/ 




GopyriglitN . 



COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT. 




Yerkes Observatory. 
(Interior View.) 



THE FAMILY 
CELESTIAL 



By 
MoJton Anorum Shuler, LL. B. 



BROADWAY PUBLISHING COMPANY 
835 Broadway, New York 






COPYBIGHT, 1915 
BY 
MOLTON ANCfiUM SHULEB 



1 



WH 26 tll| 



JAN 29 1315 



DEDICATION 

In particular, to the bright boys and girls who were 
pupils in the Monetta High School during the scholas- 
tic years 1908-09 and 1909-10, and who manifested 
such a lively interest in and evinced such a desire for 
a knowledge of astronomy ; and, in general, to the boys 
and girls of the commonwealth and of the world who 
may never be able to take a course in astronomy, but 
who desire to know at least some of the fundamentals 
and phenomena of this most comprehensive science. 



Ye stars! which are the poetry of Heaven! 

If in your bright leaves we would read the fate 
Of men and empires — 'tis to be forgiven, 

That, in our aspirations to be great, 
Our destinies o'erleap their mortal state, 

And claim a kindred with you: for ye are 
A beauty and a mystery, and create 

In us such love and reverence from afar, 
That fortune, fame, power, life, have named themselves a 
star. 



CONTENTS 

PAGE 

I. Our Great Luminary 15 

II. Our Satellite 26 

III. The Solar System 37 

IV. The Law of Gravitation 47 

V. Mercury, the Planet Nearest to the 

Sun 65 

VI. Venus, the Twin Sister of the Earth 73 

VII. The Earth — Our Mother 83 

VIII. Mars, the Ruddy Planet 98 

IX. Jupiter, the Giant Planet of the So- 
lar System 110 

X. Saturn, the Planet with the Rings 119 

XL Uranus, Herschel's Planet 127 

XII. Neptune, the Outermost Planet. . . . 136 

XIII. Comets, the Ghosts of Night 145 

XIV. Meteors or Shooting Stars 154 

XV. The Suns in Space 164 



PREFACE 



Statistics show that only a very small percentage 
of our boys and girls ever take a college course ; and 
many of those who do complete their course never 
study Astronomy at all. Their time and effort are 
spent on something else in this great commercial age, 
and they are not led to comprehend the beauty of As- 
tronomy. If once they were brought to a knowledge 
of its glory and splendor, in a great many cases they 
would pursue a study of the science for the sake of 
culture alone. 

Astronomy is one of the most beautiful sciences 
which it is our pleasure and privilege to study. Noth- 
ing else, unless it be Geology alone, touches so many 
sides of life and so many phases of nature; it is ex- 
tremely comprehensive — it is a study of the Universe. 

The writer of this little volume, when a teacher in 
the public schools, observed how intensely interested 
not only the boys and girls in the high-school depart- 
ment, but also those in the lower grades, became when 
the glory of the heavens was unfolded to them; and 
this intense interest on their part has led the author to 
decide to publish the set of short essays which he out- 
lined in talking to his pupils on this subject. 

9 



THE FAMILY CELESTIAL 

These are for the most part things known for a long 
time, and expressed again and again; but the writer 
trusts that the mode of expression used may commend 
itself to those who read, and that every boy and girl 
may, therefore, be prompted to learn the story of the 
Celestial Family. We know of nothing more pleasant 
to the possessor than having his mind stored with a 
knowledge of wonderful facts and suitable expressions 
in which to clothe them. He is thus marvelously aided 
in conversation, and also in the production of themes 
in the school room. His outlook on life is changed, 
and he gazes upon nature and her marvels with eyes of 
rapture and of gladness. 

This little work consists of fifteen short chapters — 
one on the Sun, Moon, and each of the Planets; one 
on the Solar System ; one on Gravitation, on the Com- 
ets, the Shooting Stars ; and one on the Suns in Space. 
The plan follows the general outline of writers on 
this subject, beginning with the Sun — the center of the 
system — and proceeding outward, taking up the planets 
in their regular order with respect to distance from the 
sun. The chapter on Gravitation is essential to a true 
understanding of the many intricate problems relating 
to the actions of the planets, comets, and meteors, and 
so it is worked in also. 

Much study and reading have been given to the prep- 
aration of this little work. Every course taken and 
every book read had something to commend itself to 
the writer, who is indebted to it for the part given and 
the thought suggested ; but he is most of all under obli- 
gation to the works of Sir Robert Ball, and he would 
recommend to all who may read this little volume that 
they follow it up with a study of the great English- 

10 



THE FAMILY CELESTIAL 

man's works for lay readers. Many expressions and 
illustrations in this little Book are derived from the 
works of our eminent contemporary above referred to, 
and to him the writer tenders his gratitude. 

The author is under obligation to the Yerkes Ob- 
servatory for permission to use their photographs, and 
he thanks them for the courtesy. 

It is the wish of the author that this little volume 
may find its way into the life of thousands of boys and 
girls and older people as well, and, cherishing this fond 
hope, he sends it forth on its mission among the school 
children of the land. 

M. A. S. 
Kingstree, S. C. 

September 21, 19 12. 



11 




Yerkes Observatory. 
(Exterior View.) 



(page 15.) 



OUR GREAT LUMINARY 

The spacious firmament on high, 

With all the blue ethereal sky, 
And spangled heavens, a shining frame, 

Their great Original proclaim: 
Th' unwearied sun, from day to day, 

Does his Creator's power display, 
And publishes to every land 

The work of an Almighty hand. 

Nothing better reveals to us the mighty majesty and 
power of God than a contemplation of the heavens. 
The great ideas of time, and space, and magnitude, and 
velocity, and number, and motion, and power claim 
our attention and elevate us in the scale of being. By 
contemplating the marvelous glories of the universe, 
we gain a clearer insight into the will of the Creator, 
and find exemplified more fully than in any other way 
the nothingness of man and the superior majesty of 
God. 

Again, when these noble thoughts invest the atten- 
tion of our minds, we are diverted from the petty feuds 
and factions of mankind and are made to realize that 
there is more in life than is indicated by the ripplings 
on its surface. The deeper current of life's meaning 
flows as an undertow, reverting and rebounding from 
every individual and reaching throughout the universe 
of creation; for no one can live to himself alone. As 
a mutual attraction is prevalent from one heavenly 
body to another, so does a mighty force pervade the 

15 



THE FAMILY CELESTIAL 

entire social universe, acting and reacting upon every 
member of its system. 

We can gain no better idea of the bountiful pleni- 
tude of nature than from a consideration of the sun 
himself — our great and glorious luminary, dispensing 
light and heat to the encircling worlds and making pos- 
sible life in some of its multifarious forms. Many peo- 
ple go through life without knowing anything what- 
ever about the distance, relative size, force of gravity, 
etc., of the sun and his attendant planets and satellites. 
Of course, nothing is far or near, great or small, heavy 
or light, dense or rare, unless compared with some- 
thing else varying from itself in these essential quali- 
ties and characteristics. A cat is small when compared 
with a lion, but large when compared with a mouse. 
Likewise, the earth is large when compared with the 
moon, but dwindles into insignificance when contrasted 
with the enormous volume of the sun. 

If we chose a football to represent the sun, we should 
have to take a grain of sand or a very small shot to 
show the relative size of the earth. One hundred of 
these grains placed side by side would extend across 
the diameter of the football; and the number cubed 
would give one million, thus indicating that the sun is 
one million times the size of the earth. In other words, 
if one million globes the size of the earth were melted 
down and poured into one, its volume would not equal 
that of the sun, for in reality the sun is somewhat 
more than a million times the size of the earth. The 
moon is about 239,000 miles from the earth, and the 

16 



The Sun's Disk. 



(I., p. 16.) 



1 









THE FAMILY CELESTIAL 

di; of the sun is about 866,000 miles ; now, if the 

sur .\ : placed where the earth is, his volume would 
extent jre than 190,000 miles beyond the orbit of 
the moon; or, to reverse the position, if the sun were 
placed where the moon is, his volume would extend 
more than 190,000 miles on the opposite side of the 
earth. If a railroad track were laid around the earth, 
an express train traveling at the rate of sixty miles per 
hour would pass around the earth in a little more than 
seventeen days ; but at the same rate of speed the train 
would require five years to engirdle the enormous 
volume of the sun. These are contemplations which 
cause us to wonder and to look with increasing interest 
upon the magnitude of the universe and the majesty 
of the orbs which revolve in the immensity of space. 

The mean distance of the sun from the earth is ap- 
proximately 93,000,000 miles. This number is so vast 
that it is impossible for the finite mind to grasp its 
tremendous magnitude. It can be made more intel- 
ligible, however, by an effort to count the number of 
miles. By allowing the clock to do the work for us, 
we find that in one hour the clock will make 3,600 
ticks, and in twenty-four hours it will make 86.400 
ticks. If we divide the number which the clock counts 
in one day into 93,000,000, we obtain as a result 1,076 
days, or a little less than three years for the clock to 
perform the stupendous task. 

If a railway ran from the earth to the sun, we 
might calculate the period of time that a train, run- 
ning at the rate of sixty miles per hour, would take 
to traverse the mighty journey. In one day the train 
would travel 1,440 miles, and in one year it would 
cover the tremendous distance of 526,000 miles. This 

17 



THE FAMILY CELESTIAL 

number divided into 93,000,000 gives as a result nearly 
177 years. Truly a long period of time! A man 
traveling on this great journey could never hope to 
reach his destination. His great-great grandchildren 
might live to view the marvelous glories of our splendid 
luminary. Had the train left the earth when the 
"Father of his Country" first saw the light, it would 
just now be ending its stupendous journey. Now, we 
may ask ourselves the question : How do astronomers 
measure these vast distances? Since we are consid- 
ering the sun, we may make an effort to explain how 
his distance is measured. Two astronomers station 
themselves as far from each other as possible, which 
we know is about 8,000 miles (the diameter of the 
earth), and take observation on the sun. Thus the 
number of degrees in the angle at each observer as he 
gazes at the sun is found; from which, knowing the 
distance between them, they are able to compute the 
distance of the sun. Eclipses, the transit of Venus 
across the face of the sun, and other celestial phenom- 
ena also, aid in computing the exact distance of the 
sun; and, as all these methods concur in producing 
approximate results, the distance from the earth to 
the sun is a well ascertained quantity. 

Some seemingly well informed folk say that as- 
tronomy is all guesswork and conjecture, and that they 
do not credit the so-called wonderful discoveries of 
the astronomers. To these the scientists may well say 
that it matters little whether they believe them or not, 
since it does not make these claims any the less meri- 
torious and true for them to doubt the veracity of 
the statements made by the observers of the heavens. 
Astronomy is an exact science: the distances of the 

18 



THE FAMILY CELESTIAL 

heavenly bodies are more accurately known than the 
distances between our great cities. If it were not an 
exact science, the recurrence of certain celestial phe- 
nomena could not be predicted with such unerring 
mathematical accuracy. Every claim and every state- 
ment is proved by mathematical analysis and mathe- 
matical exactitude. The recurrence of eclipses, the 
approach of invisible comets, the prediction of plan- 
etary transits, and a multitude of other wonderful 
phenomena, are wrought out with marvelous skill and 
exactness. It is indeed wonderful that the mind of 
man is capable of making such profound calculations 
and speculations with respect to the great and limit- 
less universe of space lying out beyond the confines 
of our earth, this "mould of hopes and fears" upon 
which we spend the moment of time allotted us for 
the preparation of a nobler existence. 

All of us are familiar with the heat of the sun. We 
know that the beauties of the earth are made possible 
by the engendering rays of the sun, as they flash across 
the gulf of space which separates us from that body, 
and that every spring-tide is made welcome by the 
resurrection called into existence by this generous heat ; 
then we come to the conclusion that the sun must be 
so intensely hot that on earth it would be utterly im- 
possible for us in our chemical laboratories or metal- 
lurgical establishments to produce heat approximating 
his in the slightest degree. 

Solar prominences dash away from the luminary 
with a terrific speed, often attaining the elevation of 
20,000 miles, while it is recorded that one of these 

19 



THE FAMILY CELESTIAL 

great tongues of flame extended more than one-third 
of the sun's diameter from his surface — a distance of 
350,000 miles. We must not get the idea that the 
sun concentrates all of his heat and light upon the 
earth for our benefit, for our little planet intercepts 
but the 2,ooo,ooo,oooth part of his generous rays. All 
of the heat and light intercepted by the planets and 
satellites falls as far short of exhausting the supply 
emitted by the sun as the inhalation of a wren from 
utilizing the tremendous envelope of atmosphere which 
surrounds the earth. 

There are different ways by which we may per- 
ceive the heat of the sun. A common sun-glass, by re- 
fracting and concentrating the rays of light and heat, 
may be used to ignite substances, which is a direct 
proof of the sun's wonderful heat. Some man of in- 
genuity and skill has so arranged a sun-glass above 
the touch-hole of a cannon that, at the moment when 
the sun reaches the highest point in his daily journey — 
the meridian of any given place — the heat concentrat- 
ing through the glass ignites the powder placed in the 
touch-hole and causes the cannon to be fired. Thus 
we see that the sun himself, though millions of miles 
distant, is made to announce the midday hour. By 
using a peculiar glass globe, which focuses the light 
and heat, we can construct a tell-tale for the sun. A 
piece of paper is so arranged that, when the rays of 
the rising sun passing through the globe strike it, a 
black streak is burned across the paper. When a 
cloud intervenes and intercepts the rays, the paper is 
left unscorched, thus providing the means by which 
the number of hours of sunshine and of shadow may be 
determined. 

20 



THE FAMILY CELESTIAL 

It would be very inconvenient, tiresome, and mon- 
otonous to us if we had day or night all the while. 
What a beautiful and benign provision of nature 
that gives us alternate hours of light and darkness ! 
If we had day all the time, it would become exceed- 
ingly wearisome on account of its unbroken uniform- 
ity; for we should then have to arrange our work 
according to some ill-conditioned schedule. And, on 
the other hand, if the shades of darkness continued 
for long and indefinite periods, it would become ex- 
tremely oppresive and burdensome to us. We should 
probably find ourselves in a precarious position some- 
what like a certain cock in the Arctic regions. After 
crossing the Arctic Circle, since the sun did not 
descend' below the horizon, but continued to shine with 
unabated vigor for several months together, the cock, 
hitherto very punctual in announcing the hour of dawn, 
knew not when to crow. At times he would take to 
violent fits of crowing, and later, since his former 
efforts availed nothing, he would sulk in his gloom 
and sadness, like Achilles of old, until in sheer des- 
peration he threw himself into the frozen waters of 
the Northern Ocean. 

To account for the recurrence of day and night the 
ancients made many conjectures. Not knowing that 
the earth rotates on her axis, as a consequence of 
which day and night are respectively produced as one 
side of the earth is brought into the sun's light leav- 
ing the other in shadow, some of the ancients said 
that the sun was an archer god borne in a flaming 
chariot across the concave of the heavens. Others 
gave it as their opinion that Vulcan, the god of fire, 
spent a long period of time in forging a flaming fire- 

21 



THE FAMILY CELESTIAL 

brand capable of illuminating the terrestrial regions, 
and that every morning he would throw the sun across 
the sky and then, with all of his wonderful speed, he 
would sail around the frozen north to catch in his 
boat the sun as it fell into the waters of the west. 
This was a very pretty story ; but it was very tiresome 
work for poor old Vulcan. But how did the ancients 
account for the difference in the length of the days 
in summer and in winter? They said that, as the 
fire-god in summer threw the sun with such terrific 
force that he would have to struggle with all of his 
might to get back to the east in time for the next 
day to begin, these efforts so weakened and exhausted 
Vulcan that in winter he could throw the sun only a 
short distance across the heavens. These outbursts 
of energy on the part of the fire-god accounted for 
day and night and for the difference in their length 
in summer and winter. 

This was a beautiful theory, but it was altogether 
inadequate to satisfy the inquiring mind of philosphers 
and scientists ; and we need not be surprised to learn 
that years and years later the solar system was compre- 
hended in its true significance, with the sun as the 
central luminary and the earth as an attendant planet 
This wonderful discovery on the part of the astron- 
omers changed the whole theory of the universe. 
Instead of the sun, moon, and stars revolving around 
the earth as a common center, the stars are suns, and 
the planets and satellites are simply attendants. If 
our little sun and his retinue of followers were in- 
stantly blotted out of existence, it would make no 
material difference in the vast universe, and only a 
little point of light would cease to glow. 

22 




The Corona. 



<IIT.. p. 23.) 



THE FAMILY CELESTIAL 

Of all the celestial bodies, we owe most, yea every- 
thing, to the sun. Were it not for the sun, our little 
earth would be cold and dark and dreary, an unfit 
habitation for such beings as the members of the 
human race. His light and heat make possible the 
growth of every bud and blossom; the corn develops 
under the magic touch of his benign influence; the 
cotton whitens beneath the blue skies as a result of 
his fostering rays, and the fruits are struck through 
with juicy ripeness as he causes the breath of sum- 
mer to pass over the land. The sun's heat raises 
water from the ocean in the form of vapor, and then 
precipitates that vapor as rain to refresh the earth and 
cheer the flowers, to fill our rivers and waft our 
mighty ships to the sea. The sun's rays beating on 
the broad expanses of land give existence to the 
breezes and winds which turn our wind-mills, sail 
our air-ships, and waft our vessels across the mighty 
deep. Of course, the atmosphere belongs to the earth, 
but the heat of the sun sets it in motion and causes 
it to serve us in turning our machinery and in bear- 
ing vapor to the otherwise parching lands. 

In prehistoric ages when the earth, as a result of 
the sun's rays and her own inherent heat, was far 
more intensely heated than at present, the mighty vege- 
tation of the coal period was produced ; and now, while 
we enjoy the many comforts and conveniences made 
possible by the numberless uses to which coal is put, 
we are but enjoying the sunbeams which shone on the 
earth countless millenniums ago. In the form of coal 
that heat has slumbered for ages, till we in this later 

23 



THE FAMILY CELESTIAL 

day summon its activities to our service. Plants and 
trees in growing appropriate heat, and then give off 
this heat according to certain chemical agencies and 
conditions. A piece of wood, wlren consumed by fire, 
gives forth perceptive heat; but the same wood, if 
allowed to decay, emits an identical amount of heat, 
although given off during such a long interval of 
time that we are not able to perceive it. 

It is the power of the sun stored up in coal and 
wood that runs our steam engines, turns our factories 
and cotton mills, and drives our locomotives over the 
land and our steamers and battleships across the sea. 
It is the light of the sun stored up in material products 
that beams from the lights in our cities, making them 
places of industry and of thrift. Every industry and 
enterprise on the earth is in some way connected with 
the potent influence of the sun. And yet the greatest 
amount of the sun's engery that we are able to ap- 
propriate falls as far short of exhausting the bound- 
less supple emitted by that glorious body as the sip of 
a bird fails to exhaust the volume of some mighty river 
as it meanders to the sea. 

The governments of the earth — and they are to be 
commended for it — are endeavoring to reserve their 
forest supply, that future generations may not be de- 
prived of and made to suffer from a loss of the con- 
veniences which result from the bounties of nature; 
but, so long as the sun continues to shine and supply 
the earth with light and heat, we shall be cared for; 
for scientists will so arrange glass mirrors or some 
other device as to reflect, concentrate, and store up 
sufficient heating and illuminating energy to operate 
and manipulate every industrial enterprise existing on 

24 



THE FAMILY CELESTIAL 

the earth. A few square feet of surface contain suffi- 
cient energy in the form of solar heat to propel an 
engine of colossal proportions. The tides, engendered 
by the influence of the moon and sun, may also be 
used as a source of power, greatly increasing the facil- 
ities of the human race. The future shall witness the 
utilization of this hitherto unemployed energy, by 
which the teeming millions of the earth shall prosper. 
As great and important as is the sun, he has many 
rivals in the infinitude of stars which stud the universe ; 
but these countless suns have very little effect, if 
any, on the earth and our existence, since they are 
so far from us that they are not capable of contribut- 
ing to our necessities. Our own immediate sun, dis- 
pensing to us light and heat and supplying our needs 
and making the earth a place of beauty and of I^appi- 
ness, is the controller of our destinies. To him we 
look for sustenance, and in him we find our plenitude 
for the future development which the coming centuries 
shall witness on this earth. Yet the poet tells us ; 

"The sun is but a spark of fire, 
A transient meteor in the sky; 

The soul, immortal as its Sire, 
Shall never die" 



25 



OUR SATELLITE. 

Soon as the evening shades prevail, 
The moon takes up the wondrous tale, 

And, nightly, to the listening earth, 
Repeats the story of her birth; 

While all the stars that round her burn, 
And all the planets in their turn, 

Confirm the tidings as they roll, 
And spread the news from pole to pole. 

Our satellite is about 239,000 miles from the earth, 
being only the one three hundred and eighty-ninth 
part of the sun's distance. In comparing the earth and 
the sun, we found the sun to be many times larger 
than the earth; but, when we compare the earth and 
the moon, we find the moon to be many times smaller. 
If the moon were drawn nearer and nearer to us, 
however, she would after a while exhibit the appear- 
ance of a vast continent stretching out above the 
earth. We might, figuratively speaking, call the 
planets sons and daughters of the sun, and the satel- 
lites we might name his grand-children. The moon, 
then, is the earth's daughter and the sun's grand- 
daughter. 

At this point it might be well for us to give the 
beautiful nebular theory, which has been propounded 
by the astronomers for the purpose of accounting for 
the singularities and the origin of the solar system. 
It is believed that in ages vastly remote the planets 
and their satellites were united with the sun in a 

26 



THE FAMILY CELESTIAL 

nebulous mass. This mass was diffused throughout a 
certain portion of space, and parts of it on becoming 
semi-solid were detached from the main body, the 




outermost planets being the first formed. As these 
masses varied in volume, all being far smaller than the 
sun, the larger ones were attracted by him and began 
to swing in their orbits at their relative distances from 
the central luminary ; while the smaller bodies near by 
were attracted by the larger, and began to whirl around 
them as satellites. Perhaps millions of these small 
bodies — fragments — were so far from any of those 
which we know as planets, that the sun exerted more 
magnetic force upon them than did the planets; and, 
therefore, they began to swing in an orbit around the 
sun, thus failing to become satellites for the attendant 
planets. For aught we know, these small bodies pur- 
sue courses around the sun as true as the mightiest 
globe in our system. They are too small, many of these 

27 



THE FAMILY CELESTIAL 

planetoids, to intercept and reflect sufficient sunlight to 
enable us to see them ; but some of the Asteroids, minor 
planets, may be seen through powerful telescopes. 

The planetesimal theory of the formation of the 
solar system, and of every system in the universe, is 
based upon the hypothesis that a great nebulous mass 
was affected with a spiral motion which caused nuclei 
to form, and about each of these gathered more or less 
material which solidified in time into a planetary body. 
It is barely possible that the entire mass may have, by 
this spiral motion, formed one vast body, and, by con- 
tracting and cooling outwardly for ages, the formation 
of internal gases might have been the result. After 
being pent up for ages, the gases might have caused 
a tremendous explosion which sent the nebulous mat- 
ter in all directions, and this later congealed through 
the process of cooling into more or less solid forms. 

We cannot say for a certainty that the solar system 
was formed as above described in the so-called nebular 
and planetesimal theories. Suffice it to say, however, 
that the system exists in harmonious accord and beauty, 
controlled by the universal laws of nature and of 
nature's God. The solemnity of this thought is such 
that we are led further on in our contemplation of 
the heavens; and the more we think about the solar 
system in the present form of its existence, the more 
are we impressed with its significant beauty and de- 
velopment throughout the ages of the past. 

All of these masses emitted from the main body, if 
either of these theories be correct, were of the same 
temperature as the sun himself when they began their 
movements of rotation and revolution; but, since 
smaller bodies when heated cool much more rapidly 

£8 



THE FAMILY CELESTIAL 

than larger ones, some of these masses have become so 
cool that they have now ceased to glow from their 
own inherent heat and shine only by reason of the 
reflected light from the sun. We can readily illus- 
trate to our mind the difference of time that objects 
take in cooling, or radiating their heat, if we place a 
wire and a rod of iron in a furnace and heat them to 
incandescence: the wire will become cool enough to 
handle long before the iron ceases to glow. 

Just so is it in the case of the planets and satellites 
with reference to the sun, and to one another also 
according to their relative magnitudes. These have 
radiated so much of their heat that they would be 
invisible if it were not for the light of the sun which 
they intercept and reflect, thus making it possible for 
them to shine and be seen. There may be bodies in- 
visible swinging within the confines of the solar sys- 
tem, which we are not able to see because they are 
so cold that no inherent heat emits light from them, 
and also because they are so far away that what little 
sunlight is intercepted by them is so excessively feeble 
that we are not able to perceive it even with a power- 
ful telescope; but such bodies must be so small that 
they can exert no appreciable influence upon the vis- 
ible members of the system. Indeed, the outermost 
planet yet discovered — Neptune — is invisible to the 
unaided vision, and his presence was known by mathe- 
matical analysis before he was detected by the tele- 
scope. If large bodies, other than those known, existed 
in the solor system in comparatively close proximity to 
the familiar planets, they could and would be detected 
and discovered because of their attractive influence on 
the various members of our system in causing them 

29 



THE FAMILY CELESTIAL 

to be dilatory or deviatory in their respective move- 
ments. Very small meteoric objects are not capable 
of exerting a perceptive force in this direction; and, 
therefore, it is impossible for us to tell their where- 
abouts until they dash into our atmosphere. 

In studying the sun, we had occasion to say that 
he is more than a million times the size of the earth; 
but, when we begin considering the moon, we find her 
somewhat less in size than the fiftieth part of the earth 
and weighing about one-eightieth as much, since her 
materials are of lighter proportions or are not so com- 
pactly held together. The sun, since he has such a 
tremendous volume, being, as above set forth, over 
fifty million times that of the moon, is so large that he 
glows with wonderful heat ; but the moon, on the other 
hand, is so small, comparatively speaking, that she has 
long since become cold and lifeless. Our little experi- 
ment with the wire and rod of iron is thus exemplified 
on a marvelous scale. 

The sun, being one body, does not contain as much 
radiant surface as would fifty million moons ; therefore, 
it would not require anything like fifty million full 
moons to furnish us as much light as the sun. It has 
been estimated that six hundred thousand full moons 
would equal with their collective brilliancy the amount 
of light emitted by the sun. 

We ask ourselves the question, Why does the moon 
undergo so many changes, giving us new moon, the 
quarters, full moon, and the gradual transformation 
from the dainty crescent to the beautiful disc of the 
full? These peculiar phases are due to the fact that 
the moon keeps the same face turned toward us all 
the time; and, since only one-half of her surface is 

30 




Total Eclipse of Moon. 



(IV., p. 31.) 



THE FAMILY CELESTIAL 

illumined by the light of the sun, she exhibits to us 
different parts of her bright face, beginning with the 
new moon and growing daily until the full is reached, 
at which time the earth, sun, and moon are in an ap- 
proximately straight line, with the sun and moon on 
opposite sides of the earth, thus bringing the side of 
the moon which we see into the full light of the sun. 

When the three bodies come in an exact line, one 
with the other, we have the beautiful phenomenon of 
a lunar or solar eclippse. The lunar eclipse is pro- 
duced when the moon enters the earth's shadow as 
it streams from the sun. These eclipses occur very fre- 
quently, and are deeply instructive, since the most 
interesting phenomena may be observed without the 
use of a telescope. The solar eclipses are more rare, 
and occur when the moon passes between the earth and 
the sun and by so doing obscures his face. During a 
total eclipse of the sun, twilight reigns for a while 
and causes a weird feeling to come over the denizens 
of the earth. We also haye partial eclipses and annular 
eclipses, the latter of which are caused when the moon 
is farthest from the earth, because then she is unable 
to obscure the entire disc of the sun, and the beautiful 
corona or crown emits the wonderful solar promi- 
nences. 

The moon is the chief instigator of the tides. If 
she were suddenly stricken from the universe, all the 
nations of the world would instantly experience much 
inconvenience in the manipulation of their trade and 
commerce and in the plying of their fleets and navies, 

31 



THE FAMILY CELESTIAL 

for the tides would cease to rise and fall. The ships 
could not go in and out of port on account of shallow 
water, and traffic and trade and travel would be handi- 
capped. The tidal-wave follows the moon around the 
earth, and, since the sun also engenders tides to a 
limited extent, the wave is highest when the sun and 
moon are together exerting their influence. This oc- 
curs both at new moon, when the sun and moon are 
on the same side of the earth and are working to- 
gether, and at full moon, when the sun is on one side 
of the earth and the moon on the other. The reason 
why the tide is also high in the latter instance is be- 
cause both the moon and sun are drawing away the 
water to a certain extent and causing the liquid portion 
of the earth to become elongated. 

When we observe the moon, we see on her surface 
many dark spots. These are mighty mountains and 
dark volcanic craters, and they convey a gloomy, dis- 
mal impression as we gaze at their long weird shadows 
and hollow caverns through the telescope. This re- 
markable instrument, brought into existence by Galilleo 
and enlarged by many zealous astronomers since his 
time, enables us to study the celestial bodies with most 
gratifying results. A good instrument divides the 
distance by about 1,000; therefore, since the moon is 
239,000 miles from the earth, she may be observed and 
studied at that distance by means of the telescope as 
well as she might be seen by the unaided eye were 
she but 240 or 250 miles from us. But in the case of 
exceedingly remote distances, the telescope can aid us 
but little. Alpha Centauri, one of the nearest fixed 
stars, is about 20,000,000,000,000 miles from the earth ; 
if we divide this number by 1,000 we simply cut off 

32 




Surface of the Moon. 



(V., p. 33.) 



THE FAMILY CELESTIAL 

one group of figures, and this leaves such a tremendous 
amount still that the star is but the merest point of 
light in our most powerful instruments. 

In studying the moon with the telescope, astronomers 
have become more familiar with the configurations of 
her surface than are the geographers with the dark, 
unexplored and almost impenetrable jungles of the 
earth. Every region as large as a township has been 
mapped out and named. The altitude of the moun- 
tains has been measured from the shadows which they 
cast across the brilliantly illumined surface of the 
moon's face. These mountains are very high, but 
not so high as those on the earth. Since there is no 
water on the moon, and since her mountains extend 
from the bottom of deep desert plains, we shall in 
comparing terrestrial mountains with lunar mountains 
have to consider the distance from the bottom of the 
ocean to the summit of the mountains as forming a 
greater elevation than can be found on the moon. 

Lunar craters range in width of diameter from a 
few feet to seventy-eight miles, which last is to be 
found in the mighty Petavious. Why is it that there 
are such enormous craters on our satellite? How 
could the materials be hurled to such a great dis- 
tance as the thirty-nine miles from the center of the 
splendid crater just mentioned? We may answer these 
questions with some degree of accuracy if we bear in 
mind that the materials on the moon are somewhat 
different in composition from those on the earth, and 
that the force of gravitation is reduced to about one- 

33 



THE FAMILY CELESTIAL 

sixth of what it is on the earth, since the moon is 
so much smaller than our planet. This lessened gravi- 
tation causes greater displacements on our satellite 
than would be occasioned by the same amount of force 
on the earth. There may also be an exterior influence 
which may be responsible for the existence of such 
grand and magnificent craters on the moon. Meteors, 
no doubt, dash into the moon as they do into the 
earth, and, since no atmosphere envelops her as a 
blanket or shield to trap the meteors and destroy them 
by friction, they crash into her surface and produce 
terrible rents and chasms; but it must transcend the 
realm of probability to say that the meteorites are re- 
sponsible for the greatest of the lunar craters. 

How do we know for an ascertained fact that neither 
air nor water is present on the moon, thus making 
life, such as that with which we are familiar, impos- 
sible? When the moon is studied through the tele- 
scope, no clouds are seen, which in itself is evidence 
of the fact that water is absent. Sometimes it so hap- 
pens that apparently the moon passes over a star which 
may be seen very plainly until the identical moment 
when it is concealed by the body of the satellite, which 
proves to us that no atmphere is present; for, if there 
were an atmosphere, then the luster of the star would 
be dimmed more and more until the moon completely 
hid its rays behind her golden form. 

In all probability, then, since these two essential ele- 
ments are absent from the moon, life like ours is im- 
possible. Wonderful as are our telescopes, they fail 
to show us any form of life on our satellite. Her 
giant trees, if she should have any, would dwindle 
away into insignificance, becoming as a twig or a blade 

34 



THE FAMILY CELESTIAL 

of grass ; elephants and mastodons, were they browsing 
on her plains, would resolve themselves into beetles 
and grass-hoppers, lost to view in the infinity of dis- 
tance which separates the observer from his object 
as he gazes at the moon. Even with all this, still 
life in some weird form may exist on the moon. When 
a new land is discovered on the earth, how eagerly 
people rush forward to possess it and study its wonder- 
fully strange plants and animals ! With what zeal and 
delight they seek precious metals in its glens or roll- 
ing sands, and how joyful they seem when the glit- 
tering diamond is sparkling from the surface and 
glistening in the light of the golden morning and radi- 
ant as the drop of dew ! But, if we could travel on 
the moon, even though she be considered a dead world, 
we should, doubtless, become fascinated with the pros- 
pect of her scenery and the forms of life which, may 
there exist. Minerals valuable for their utility, and 
stones precious for their beauty and splendor, might 
be found in abundant quantities ; while peculiar speci- 
mens of life, living without water and without air, 
might occasion the gravest interest and concern and 
impart to us an insight into the plentiude of nature 
undreamed of on our mother earth. 

If we could live without breathing, it would probably 
be impossible for us to enjoy a conversation together 
while touring the country, since there would be no air 
waves to convey the sound. The silence would be 
oppressive, and no sweet music or rythmic sounds 
would greet our weary and noiseless return to our hab- 
itations at night-fall. Our homes need not be fitted 
with glass windows and fireplaces, for without an at- 
mosphere not a breath of air would stir to bring in 

35 



THE FAMILY CELESTIAL 

dust, and our fires could not burn without a supply of 
oxygen. Everything would be as silent as death, 
reminding us of the gloomy fatality of human des- 
tiny when guided by the bleak forebodings of atheistic 
tendencies. Oh that we might learn from nature, from 
illimitable expanse and boundless infinity, the path of 
duty which leads us back to love and truth 1 



THE SOLAR SYSTEM. 

What though, in solemn silence, all 
Move round the dark terrestrial ball? 

What though no real voice nor sound 
Amid their radiant orbs be found? 

In reason's ear they all rejoice, 
And utter forth a glorious voice, 

Forever singing as they shine, 
"The hand that made us is divine." 

Our solar system is composed of the Sun, Mercury, 
Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Nep- 
tune, together with their satellites, the meteors and 
the comets. In studying the heavens, it is but natural 
that the sun should first claim our attention. It is 
by his glorious light that the other members above 
mentioned glitter like radiant jewels in the sky. If 
he were blotted out of existence, the planets would 
cease to twinkle in their lustrous beauty, but the stars 
which are themselves suns would continue to shine 
with unabated energy as points of splendor in the 
sky. When we observe a beautiful planet like Venus 
or Mars or Jupiter, it is difficult for us to realize that 
it has no inherent light of its own, but is dependent 
upon the sun for its power of emanating and trans- 
mitting brilliancy throughout the confines of space. 
Nevertheless, the planets gaze up at their sovereign 
and reflect his royal majesty. 

The ancients were acquainted with five of the 
planets — Uranus and Neptune being added to the list 
by the discoveries of modern times — and it was they 
who gave such significant names, mythologically speak- 



THE FAMILY CELESTIAL 

ing, to these wandering orbs of light. And this 
wandering or roving disposition on their part is what 
led to their being denominated planets; for the word 
"planet" is derived from a Greek word which means 
"to wander." Those ancient astronomers, watching 
their flocks under cloudless Egyptian and Arabian 
skies, which still furnish unsurpassed facilities for 
observing the beauties of the heavens, were without 
the powerful assistance of the telescope ; but this, how- 
ever, did not deprive them of the faculty by which they 
might gaze upon the shifting panorama of the skies. 
They mapped down the stars and studied the various 
constellations. But, after repeating observations, it 
was noticed that certain stars varied as to position with 
respect to other stars, and to these the ancients applied 
the name planets, meaning wanderers. 

To those astronomers and philosphers of the ancient 
time must be given the credit for a large amount of 
knowledge which is the heritage of our own day; for 
astronomy is as old as the human race, and our present 
wonderful enlightenment on this the most comprehen- 
sive of all the sciences is but the climax of their achieve- 
ment. We marvel at the simple faith of these philos- 
phers, as they contemplate the superior majesty of the 
Creator's handiwork and associate everything glorious 
and beautiful with the purity of the stars ; for, as sings 
the poet, 



"Ye are a beauty and a mystery, and create 
In us such love and reverence from afar 
That fortune, fame, power, life, have named themselves a 
star." 



38 



THE FAMILY CELESTIAL 

Ancient writers frequently mention the stars in sing- 
ing the praise of the Controller of the universe. Bib- 
lical writers, inspired by the divine Spirit, sing His 
praise in notes of beauty and harmony, as does the 
psalmist when he says: "The heavens declare the 
glory of God; and the firmament sheweth His handi- 
work." And, again, the purifying power of the Re- 
deemer and the kindling radiance of His majesty are 
made significant in the revelation of that lonely man 
on the bleak and barren Isle of Patmos, as he gives us 
the words of his Sovereign and of ours : "I am the 
bright and morning Star." 

In our day of marked enlightenment and accom- 
plished achievement, we are prone to look lightly upon 
the apparent ignorance of our ancient forefathers, and 
fail to give them due credit for their splendid part in 
laying the basic foundation of the superb intellectual 
edifice of the present epoch. These peoples of the 
historic morning planted the germs of astronomy, 
geometry, chemistry, and medicine, which later, under 
the fostering influence of the ages, developed into the 
well-known sciences of this later day. What should 
now be the condition of civilization had not these 
pioneers at early dawn gone forth, making discoveries 
in the realms of nature? A mantle of darkness and 
ignorance would be spread above us, and we should 
be crying for the light with pleading eyes through the 
shadows; man would be 



"An infant crying in the night, 
An infant crying for the light, 
And with no language but a cry." 



39 



THE FAMILY CELESTIAL 

Let us laud the memory of those who, in ages in- 
conceivably remote, when the day was just dawning 
and the mists were rolling themselves from the horizen, 
laid the foundation of our intellectual pyramid, which, 
throughout the ages, the race has erected and climbed 
until the mind, majestic in its strength, stands erect 
upon its star-crowned summit, gazing upon the 
grandeur of the universe, "self-clothed with the 
prescience of a god." 

Observe for one moment what celestial significance 
was attached to the planets by the ancients as they 
named them for their gods, thus indicating that the 
stars of light must be held in close association with the 
heavenly divinities having their homes far above the 
airy regions of the earth. It seems that Rome, the 
mistress of the ancient world, has caused the names 
of her deities to become attached to the planets, and 
this shows what a high conception of royal dignity 
was prevalent among the people of that pagan nation. 
Jupiter, the largest planet in our system, bears the 
name of the father of gods and men, controlling their 
destinies and championing their cause; while Venus, 
the brightest of the planets, is called after the famous 
goddess of beauty and of love, complicating a destiny 
divine with human fatality and giving the race the 
object of its life. Mars, the ruddy planet, takes his 
name from the god of war, the art of which was a 
favorite pastime among the peoples inhabiting the 
regions around the "cradle of civilization," as the Med- 
iterranean has been aptly called. This art of strife has 
not yet entirely disappeared from our earth, but, al- 
though it has echoed down the ages from the remotest 
antiquity, we hope that in the future all disputes shall 

40 



THE FAMILY CELESTIAL 

be settled by arbitration and not by a resort to arms : 
that international brotherhood shall reign supreme; 
and, instead of drums rallying men for battle and for 
death, they may call heroes to a jubilee of peace. Then 
shall we draw the sword Excalibur from its sheath and 
fling it far out into the sea, rejoicing that it is gone 
forever. Mercury, the planet nearest to the sun, takes 
his appellation from the god of merchandise and elo- 
quence, the wing-footed herald of the celestials ; while 
Saturn, the planet with the rings, is named after the 
ancient Roman god of agriculture, who was the father 
of Jupiter and ruled in the golden age. 

In a far later day, when the other two mighty orbs 
were added to our system, a controversy arose as to 
what they should be called. At last, it was decided 
that, as the other planets bear mythological names, it 
was but fitting and proper that these should also be 
named after the gods of the ancient epoch; therefore, 
Sir William Herschel's great planet was named 
Uranus, who was the father of Chronos the Greek god 
Time; and the outermost planet yet discovered was 
given the appellation of Neptune, god of the deep. 
This last is significant, since Neptune is plunged so 
far into the depths of space that he guards the outer 
boundaiy of the spendid solar system with as much 
unpretentious dignity and complacency as that with 
which the ancient god ruled over the sea. 

Mercury is the nearest planet to the sun, being about 
36,000,000 miles from the source of heat and light. 
His diameter is about 3,030 miles, and he makes his 
journey around the sun in 88 days, which period of 
time constitutes one year for that body. It is rather 
difficult to see this planet, though sometimes he lingers 

41 



THE FAMILY CELESTIAL 

above the horizon long enough to be seen after the 
Bun, whose enveloping rays shield him from our vision 
for the greater part of the time, since he attends his 
sovereign so closely, has gone to light the people at 
the antipodean side of the earth. 




THE PLANETS COMPARED 

The next planetary circle described around the sun 
is followed by Venus, the twin sister of the earth and 
the brightest gem that glitters in the firmament. Often 
in broad daylight she may be seen sparkling as a jewel 
in the skies. Her distance from the sun is about 
67,000,000 miles, and she makes a complete revolution 
around her circuit in 225 days. The length of her 

42 



THE FAMILY CELESTIAL 

diameter is 7,700 miles, a little more than two hun- 
dred miles less than the diameter of our planet. Venus 
is a most interesting body, and it fills us with delight 
to study her and contemplate her beauty as she twinkles 
in the blue azure of the sky. 

Next after Venus comes the Earth, with a mean 
distance from the sun of about 93,000,000 miles. Her 
diameter is 7,918 miles, and she makes a complete 
circuit around the central luminary in a little more 
than 365 days, which is the length of our year. We 
are great travelers, making more than a million miles 
daily to cover the journey allotted us each year. If 
we wish to find the diameter of the earth's orbit around 
the sun, we simply double the distance from ourselves 
to that body and obtain as a result 186,000,000 miles; 
now, if we desire to obtain the distance of our annual 
journey, we multiply the above number by the ratio 
which the circumference bears to the diameter of a 
circle, and obtain as a result the tremendous number of 
over 584,000,000 miles. We must cover eighteen miles 
per second if we complete the journey in the time 
required. The earth moves over one thousand times 
as fast as an express train and nearly one hundred 
times as fast as a rifle bullet. What a speed tre- 
mendous ! And yet, when we observe it in its true 
phase of comparison, we find it to be a very mediocre 
rate. An express train or a great line steamer will 
advance its length in a few seconds, whereas the earth 
requires upwards of eight minutes to pass over the 
distance of her diameter. 

Next after the earth comes the ruddy planet, Mars, 
with a mean distance from the sun of 141,000,000 
miles. His diameter is 4,230 miles, and he makes his 

43 



THE FAMILY CELESTIAL 

orbital journey in 687 days. Mars has two beautiful 
satellites, Phobus and Deimos, who attend him at 
all times, ever ministering to the necessities of their 
chieftain. 

Jupiter, the largest of the planets, whose volume 
exceeds that of all the others combined, is 483,000,000 
miles from the sun and has a diameter of 86,500 miles. 
It takes Jupiter about twelve of our years to complete 
his orbital journey around the sun. He has an inter- 
esting and instructive system of satellites, eight in 
number, which follow him on his untiring journeys 
through the heavens. These satellites are designated 
by numbers, instead of by names, by most of the as- 
tronomers. It was by observing these satellites in 
eclipse that the velocity of light was discovered. This 
in itself was one of the most momentous discoveries 
which the mind of man has yet made, because it was 
fraught with so much that was and is essential to a 
true comprehension of the universe in estimating other- 
wise almost incalculable distances. 

Following Jupiter in the order of the solar system 
comes Saturn. His mean diameter is about 71,000 
miles and his mean distance from the sun is 
886,000,000 miles. It requires Saturn twenty-nine 
and one-half years to make his journey around the 
sun. He has ten satellites, and they, as those of the 
other planets named, bear classical appellations — 
Mimas, Enceladus, Tethys, Dione, Rhea, Titan, 
Hyperion, Iapetus, Phoebe, and Themis. Saturn is 
one of the most interesting of the heavenly bodies, 
which fact is accounted for when we study the peculiar 
system of rings by which he is surrounded. These 
rings extend far from his surface, thus presenting that 

44 



THE FAMILY CELESTIAL 

singular appearance which makes him one of the most 
marvelous and striking of telescopic objects. 

By doubling Saturn's distance from the sun, we 
reach the orbit of the planet Uranus. The mean dis- 
tance of this body from his sovereign is 1,782,000,000 
miles, and his mean diameter is 31,900 miles. It re- 
quires him eighty-four of our years to make a complete 
revolution around the sun. The lifetime of one of our 
oldest men would be just enough to span one year on 
the planet Uranus. He is attended by a beautiful 
system of satellites, four hi number. They bear the 
significant names of Ariel, Umbriel, Titania, and 
Oberon. 

As the boundary of the solar system we have the 
planet Neptune. His mean distance from the central 
luminary is 2,792,000,000 miles — truly a great dis- 
tance ; for, in fact, he is so far away that he is beyond 
the range of unaided vision. His mean diameter is 
34,800 miles, and he completes his voyage around the 
sun in one hundred and sixty-five of our years. Two 
reasons may be assigned why the outer planets require 
so much more time to make one revolution than the 
inner planets : they have a far greater distance to 
traverse; and, since they are so far from the sun, his 
attractive influence exerted upon them is necessarily 
lessened to such an extent that they move very slowly 
along their orbital path. So far, only one satellite has 
been discovered in attendance upon Neptune, though 
others may be present. 

Besides the various planets and their satellites, there 
are several showers of shooting stars and a number 
of comets which also belong to the great family of 
the sun. Indeed, the solar system is a wonderful and 

45 



THE FAMILY CELESTIAL 

glorious organization of unique individuals, each held 
in his proper place with respect to the others by the 
great law of universal gravitation, which pervades the 
immensity of space. We find out daily more and more 
about the great laws of nature and of God, as our minds 
struggle from darkness and slavery back to the light 
and liberty of the Creator from Whom they came. 
Education is simply a struggle to be set free from the 
fetters of ignorance; it is the ascension of the moun- 
tain of truth. 



46 



THE LAW OF GRAVITATION. 

Like the Chaldean, he could watch the stars, 

Till he had peopled them with beings bright 
As their own beams; and earth, and earth-born jars, 

And human frailties, were forgotten quite: 
Could he have kept his spirit to that flight, 

He had been happy; but this clay will sink 
Its spark immortal, envying it the light 

To which it mounts, as if to break the link 
That keeps us from yon heaven which woos us to its brink. 

One of the greatest discoveries relative to a thorough 
understanding and full comprehension of the study 
of astronomy was that evolved by Sir Isaac Newton, 
the great English mathematician. This discovery is 
nothing more or less than the great law of universal 
gravitation, which shall now engage our attention. 

Doubtless we are all familiar with the properties 
of those little bodies called magnets. Natural magnets 
are pieces of a kind of iron ore called lodestone; this 
metal was discovered years ago near the city Magnesia, 
in Asia Minor, from which circumstance it received its 
name. Artificial magnets are readily made by rubbing 
a natural magnet with a piece of tempered steel, or 
by charging the bar of steel with currents of electricity. 

Magnets will not attract any and every substance; 
iron, steel, nickel and cobalt are the bodies upon which 
they exert their influence. The force of attraction is 
felt even though certain substances like glass or paper 
intervene, and the magnet is as true to its affinities in 

47 



THE FAMILY CELESTIAL 

the common realm as the needle is to the pole in its 
more scientific application. 

The earth and all the planets and their satellites, 
the sun and all the numberless stars in the firmament, 
are magnets of various sizes and forces, attracted and 
attracting throughout the infinity of space. The suns 
attract the planets, the planets attract the satellites; a 
mutual action and reaction by which each influences 
and is influenced by the other. The essential point to 
be kept in mind about this force of gravitation is that 
it never entirely ceases, no matter how far we leave 
the body under consideration. True it decreases with 
the distance, but its force always exists with an ever 
lessening ratio throughout the entire universe. 

Let us consider the earth for a few moments, and 
see if we can understand something about the force 
of gravity. Nothing is more familiar than the fact 
that, when a stone or any object whatever (unless sus- 
tained by the atmosphere) is dropped, it will fall to the 
ground. The occurrence is seemingly so commonplace 
that no one at first thinks it worthy of consideration. 
We are surprised when we see the iron or steel drawn 
to the magnet ; and yet the attraction of the earth for 
the falling stone is quite as interesting a phenomenon 
as the force of magnetism, and it is exhibited on a 
far grander scale, since the force of gravitation is sig- 
nificant throughout the universe. 

If we stand upon an elevation and drop a stone to 
the ground, we find that it will fall about sixteen feet 
the first second of its descent. This is caused by the 
force of attraction exerted by the earth. If we use 
many substances of various sizes and weights, we find 
that they will all fall sixteen feet the first second 

48 



THE FAMILY CELESTIAL 

and strike the ground at the same moment if they are 
released together. The same is true of cotton or a 
piece of paper or any light substance, if it is placed 
upon some object which will clear the atmosphere away 
and free the body of its sustaining influence. We may 
try these experiments anywhere on the earth's surface 
near the sea level, and we shall find that the results are 
approximately the same in every instance. But sup- 
pose that we should climb a very high mountain or 
make a still higher ascent in a ballon ; would the earth 
attract the stone as readily as at the surface? As- 
suredly she would attract the stone, but that object 
would require a little longer period to fall through the 
space of sixteen feet than it did at the surface. The 
difference of time in falling would be very little in- 
deed, yet it might be computed. 

Suppose that some traveler were endowed with the 
means whereby he might breathe and soar far beyond 
the outer regions of the atmosphere until he had at- 
tained the altitude of nearly a quarter of a million miles 
above the earth. How would the earth appear from 
that stupendous distance? The outlines of towns and 
cities would have vanished from view, and the trav- 
eler should see instead the continents and the oceans 
so far as this were possible through the intervening 
clouds. But would the force of gravity for the stone 
still exist? Sir Isaac Newton has demonstrated to us 
that it would exist still, but in intensity greatly les- 
sened. The stone is released from the balloon by our 
traveler as he is suspended far above the earth, but, 
instead of falling with the velocity of sixteen feet for 
the initial second, it too seems to be suspended in space 
and takes a minute to pass through the same distance 

49 



THE FAMILY CELESTIAL 

that at the surface it traverses in one second. Natur- 
ally we marvel at this slow rate of speed, but, never- 
theless, the falling body, gradually acquiring more and 
more velocity, rushes onward over its long journey of 
a quarter of a million miles to the earth. 

We, of course, say that an experiment so daring as 
this could not possibly be made, which is materially 
true. But Newton conceived the grand idea of using 
the moon herself to prove the existence of gravity at 
the distance of her orbit from the earth. Her deflec- 
tion toward the earth may be calculated, which gives a 
measure of the earth's attractive power. She is ever 
falling toward our planet, but, since both are in mo- 
tion, neither having started from a position of rest, 
the moon is ever held approximately the same distance 
from the earth, following in an orbital path around that 
body. 

The gravitation of the earth is a force which extends 
throughout the immensity of space. The more distant 
the body, the weaker does this force become; and here, 
by pondering on this thought, was to be found the idea 
from which Newton evolved his immortal discovery 
as to the intensity of gravitation and the law according 
to which that intensity decreases. We have shown 
that at the distance of the moon — 239,000 miles away — 
a body requires one minute to fall through the same 
space that it traverses in a second near the earth's 
surface. This is conclusive evidence of the fact that 
the attractive power of the earth, by which she draws 
all bodies toward her center, becomes weaker at a 
distance. This is but a parallel case of the law accord- 
ing to which the brilliancy of light decreases with the 
increase of the distance. Thus are we enabled to state 

50 



THE FAMILY CELESTIAL 

the law of gravitation in terms which assert that the in- 
tensity of this force varies inversely as the square of 
the distance. 

As an elucidation of this otherwise abstruse prob- 
lem, let us suppose that a body were elevated nearly 
4,000 miles above the surface of the earth, so as to be 
twice the distance from her center as when lying on 
or near her surface. Now from the law above stated, 
since the distance is twice as great, the intensity of 
the attraction varying inversely as the square of the 
distance, the force of gravity exerted at that height 
is only one-fourth of what it is when the body lies 
on the ground. If we drop the body at the distance 
above indicated, instead of falling sixteen feet in the 
initial second, it will fall only four feet, which is 
just one-fourth of the distance which it passes over 
when near the earth's surface. 

Now, if we ascend twice the above distance, so as to 
be three times the earth's radius from her center, the 
force of gravity will be just one-ninth of what it is 
down at the surface. Again, if we treble the first dis- 
tance, so as to be four times the length of the radius 
from the earth's center, the force of gravity will be 
reduced to the one-sixteenth part of what it is at the 
surface; and so on until we reach the orbit of the 
moon, 239,000 miles away, which is about sixty times 
the earth's radius, where the force of gravity will be 
the one-thirty-six hundredth part of its surface attrac- 
tion, which is the reciprocal of sixty squared. A body 
weighing 3,600 pounds on the earth's surface would, 
if carried to the orbit of the moon, weigh only one 
pound. 

But, after we reach this great distance, does the 
51 



THE FAMILY CELESTIAL 

force of gravity cease? Astronomy teaches us that 
the attraction of gravitation, its intensity ever decreas- 
ing, is capable of bridging the most profound gulfs of 
infinite space. We have simply indicated the attractive 
force of the earth. But the law of gravitation states 
that "every body in the universe attracts every other 
body with a force which varies inversely as the square 
of the distance." There is an attractive force, then, 
which extends throughout infinity, by which every body 
in space influences and is influenced by every other 
body. This is the wonderful law by which the astron- 
omers have unraveled the mysterious and complicated 
movements of the planets, anticipated the telescope, 
and felt the existence of bodies before they have been 
averred by ocular demonstration — we see by the imag- 
ination, by intellect, and by a combination of nature's 
laws. 

If the earth attracts the moon and the moon at- 
tracts the earth, why do they not rush together with 
terrific force? Since the sun attracts all the planets 
and their satellites, why do they all not rush together 
with a frightful collision and thus weld the entire sys- 
tem into one great globe? If all the numberless hosts 
of stars attract one another, why do they not all draw 
to a common center, weld the material universe into a 
massive nucleus, and annihilate the mighty grandeur 
of creation? 

Had the sun and planets and satellites been placed 
initially at rest, they would have been drawn to the 
sun and welded into a solid mass as a result of their 
mutual attraction, thus annihilating the system. But, 
since all these bodies are in perpetual motion, they are 
able to resist the force of attraction in such a way as 

52 



THE FAMILY CELESTIAL 

not to be drawn by it to total destruction. That there 
may be no misunderstanding about the attractive force 
of gravity, astronomers furnish a graphic illustration 
which enables us to see how the earth and moon are 
made to preserve their proper relation to each other, 
so far as the force of gravitation is concerned, and this 
course of reasoning applies also to the primaries or 
centers of the numberless systems throughout infinite 
space. 

To comprehend this theory fully, we shall imagine 
that an exceedingly high mountain, with a powerful 
cannon on its summit, is located on the earth. If the 
cannon were fired with a moderate -charge of powder, 
the projectile would follow along a curved line until 
gravity had drawn it to the earth far toward the base 
of the mountain. If a heavier charge of powder were 
used, the projectile would follow a more outward path 
and fall still father away from the mountain; while, 
if we employ a cannon far more powerful than the 
massive guns of our citadels and battleships, and 
powder many times stronger than that of our smoke- 
less type, the velocity of the projectile would be sev- 
eral miles per second, and, instead of falling to the 
earth, it would follow such a path as that described by 
the arc A C, ever remaining the same distance above 
the earth, though still curving, as every projectile must 
curve under the attractive force of gravity, from the 
horizontal line in which it moved at the moment of its 
discharge from the cannon on the mountain. Arriv- 
ing at the point marked C, it would still be the same 
height above the earth and its speed would not be 
abated in the least; therefore, it would continue on 
until it described a complete circle around the earth; 

53 



THE FAMILY CELESTIAL 

and now, if we could remove the mountain and the 
cannon, "we should then have a body revolving for- 
ever around the earth in consequence of the attraction 
of gravitation." 




D * c 
How The Moon Revolver 

For an understanding of the subject here involved, 
we may imagine the moon to have been fired from a 
mighty cannon stationed nearly a quarter of a million 
miles above the earth. Of course, this item of distance 
is contrary to the tidal theory, which declares that the 
earth and moon were at one time in direct or almost 
direct contact with each other, since both evolved from 
the same initial and original mass ; but for the present 
purpose this thought need not concern us, and we may 
consider the moon as a vast projectile sweeping around 
the earth, preserving its velocity and continuing in- 
definitely with respect to its attitude toward the earth 

54 



THE FAMILY CELESTIAL 

and the attractive force exerted by that body. We are 
not making the assertion that the moon was fired from 
some mighty cannon; we are simply showing that she 
moves in her orbit as if she had thus started on her 
ceaseless journeying around the earth. Now, just as 
the moon revolves around the earth, so does the earth 
revolve around the sun, the illustration showing us 
that "a circular or nearly circular motion harmonizes 
with the conception of the law of universal gravita- 
tion." 

In considering the force of gravitation, we are ac- 
customed to regard it as of stupendous magnitude, 
since such vast bodies as the earth and moon are con- 
trolled by its mighty power. No doubt the actual 
force which retains these massive bodies in their 
respective paths around their primaries is of vast in- 
tensity; but this is due to the fact that gravitation is 
in such cases considered in connection with gigantic 
bodies, as the intensity is almost imperceptible unless 
one or both of the attracting spheres are of exceedingly 
great proportions. 

We are told by the astronomers* that, if we desire 
to conceive the force of gravitation as one of measur- 
able intensity, we must employ in our imagination two 
ponderous globes, composed each of 417,000 tons of 
cast iron, and, if solid, measuring about fifty-three 
yards in diameter. A distance of one mile must sep- 
arate these globes. Each globe attracts the other by 
the force of gravitation, even though buildings or bar- 
riers of every sort and size intervene. This inter-pene- 
trating force may be readily conceived by observing 
how easily light passes through glass, and then by 

*The illustration is that of Sir Robert Ball. 
55 



THE FAMILY CELESTIAL 

comparing this phenomenon with that of the force of 
gravity as it exerts itself in spite of all impediments 
and obstacles. These globes so placed will, according 
to the law of gravitation, attract each other ; but, even 
with their massive volume, the intensity of their 
mutual attraction is but the pressure of a single pound. 
If they were so, arranged that friction should be 
neutralized, the globes would then, by following the 
impulse of their mutual attraction, begin to come to- 
gether, with such slow velocity, however, that several 
days would elapse before they should be in direct prox- 
imity one with the other. 

The chief thought to consider with respect to this 
phase of the study of the force of gravitation is that, 
although we gave the illustration by mentioning globes 
of cast iron, it matters not of what substance the globes 
are composed, as the attractive power remains the 
same so long as the masses remain unaltered, even 
though the bodies be composed of any metal whatever, 
or of wood or stone, of water or air. Herein lies the 
difference, then, between the force of gravity exerted 
by any and every body and the force of magnetic at- 
traction exerted only by such bodies as those possess- 
ing the qualities and characteristics of lodestone. 

We have alluded to the fact that the moon travels 
around the earth in a path which approaches a circle, 
and that the earth makes her annual journey around 
the sun in an orbit which is approximately circular. 
Now the same is more or less true of all the planets. 
Therefore, it would not be the part of wisdom to dis- 
miss this important topic in the study without showing 
in what way the orbital paths deviate from the true 
circle. 



THE FAMILY CELESTIAL 

If these bodies revolved around their primary in a 
perfectly circular orbit, with the sun at the center, the 
radii of the several orbits would remain constant in- 
stead of approximately so; for, when accurate ob- 
servations are made, it is found that the distance from 
any planet to the sun does not remain absolutely con- 
stant, although the circumstances vary somewhat with 
each of the planets, since the paths of some approach 
more nearly to exact circles than do those of others. 

The theory of circular orbits possesses such beauti- 
ful symmetry that we find ourselves endeavoring to 
propound some means by which we may account for 
the fluctuations of planetary distances from the sun 
and still not dispense with the use of the circle. If 
we supposed that the sun did not occupy the center 
of the circle, might we not readily see that the radii 
of the several planetary orbits must necessarily fluctu- 
ate, and that the sun would be nearer at one period 
of the planet's annual journey than he would be at 
another as a result of his not occupying the true and 
exact center? Such a system of circles placed around 
the sun would explain, to a certain degree, the varia- 
tions in planetary departure from a constant distance 
from the sun; for the more eccentric his position, the 
more would the distance from the luminary fluctuate 
as the planets traversed one part of their orbit and 
then another. But this explanation did not suffice to 
satisfy the thoughtful minds of the astronomers. They 
must have exact, and not approximate, results. So the 
planets are studied very minutely, their radii shifted 
hither and thither and adjusted with greater accuracy, 
until at last it is discovered that such discrepancies 
arise that it is impossible to reconcile the position 

57 



THE FAMILY CELESTIAL 

which these bodies now occupy with the position which 
they would occupy if they moved in exact circles. 

Now, if the planets do not move in exact circles, 
what sort of orbits do they follow? This problem 
confronted Kepler, the eminent German astronomer, 
who immortalized his worthy name by propounding a 
solution for it. By dint of study and application, he 
discovered that the planets do not traverse exact 
circles, but describe ellipses more or less elongated, 
some closely approximating circles and others depart- 
ing therefrom with considerable eccentricity. Probably 
this discovery of the true shape of the planetary orbits 
is one of the most conspicuous events ever demon- 
strated in the history of any branch of science, for it 
marks an initial epoch in the conception of the solar 
system. 

From the dawn of history, mathematicians had been 
familiar with the geometric figure which we call the 
ellipse ; but it seems that this singular figure could not 
be utilized for any special purpose, although scientists 
wondered and experimented as to what use it might be 
put, when all at once it was announced by Kepler that 
the ellipse is concident and identical with the highways 
of the universe. Thus, instead of following truly cir- 
cular orbits, the heavenly bodies traverse elliptic 
curves, which are more or less eccentric according to 
the position of the foci. If the foci are widely sepa- 
rated, the ellipse will be greatly elongated; but, if the 
foci are placed nearer and nearer together, the re- 
sultant figures will approach the circle as a limit until 
the foci coincide, when the ellipse and circle become 
coincident. The chief point of singularity about the 
ellipse, then, is that it possesses the peculiar property 

58 



THE FAMILY CELESTIAL 

of eccentricity, which varies acording to the diversity 
or coincidence of the foci. 

In studying the solar system, we find that the sun, 
instead of being located in the center of the planetary 
orbits, occupies the position of one of the foci; which 
fact, enables all the planets to possess one focus in 
common, lying at the center of their source of heat and 
light. The first law of planetary motion as discovered 
and demonstrated by Kepler may be stated in these 
words : 

"Each planet revolves around the sun in an elliptic 
path, having the sun at one of the foci." 

From a conception of this law, we may imagine a 
sketch of the solar system, with its many planetary or- 
bits varying from approximate circles to greatly elon- 
gated ellipses. The orbit of the earth is almost a cir- 
cle, while that of Venus approaches a circle more 
nearly still. The path of Mercury is an ellipse which 
departs very materially from a circle ; but still greater 
eccentricity is to be found in the case of some of the 
minor planets; while the comets traverse paths of so 
much eccentricity that the elongated sides appear to 
be parallel lines. 

We say that the heavenly bodies must maintain a 
certain velocity so that they may complete their jour- 
ney around the sun in the respective time-periods al- 
lotted them. But by this we do not mean to say that 
these bodies traverse the same identical distance in like 
periods of time, but, since their velocity is by no means 
uniform, they move faster at one time than at another. 
We have previously noted that the earth has to move 
eighteen miles per second to accomplish her annual 
journey around the sun; but she does not traverse the 

59 



THE FAMILY CELESTIAL 

same distance every second of the year, for sometimes 
she moves more slowly or more swiftly than she does 
at other times. But her average rate of eighteen miles 
per second is maintained, so that at the end of the year 
she is again at the place where she commenced her 
journey twelve months before. 

Mean 




ELLIPTIC MOT/ON - VARY/NG DEGREES 

We may readily illustrate this important principle 
to our minds by employing the use of a simple figure. 
We shall suppose the planet to be situated at that part 
of its orbit which is most distant from the sun. Here 
the planet's velocity is at its lowest rate ; but, as it be- 
gins to approach the sun, impelled thitherward by his 
wonderful magnetic force, its mean value is attained, 
and later still, as it passes around the sun at the oppo- 
site end of the ellipse, the maximum velocity is reached, 
which decreases as the planet soars out into space, 
again attaining its medium rate, to be followed later 

60 



THE FAMILY CELESTIAL 

by its least velocity, when it reaches the position from 
whence we first began to observe it. 

By an application of Kepler's second law of plan- 
etary motion — "Every planet moves round the sun 
with such a velocity at every point that a straight line 
drawn from it to the sun passes over equal areas in 
equal times" — we are able to give numerical definite- 
ness to the principle which causes the velocity of a 




KEPLER'S SECOND LAW 

planet to vary from the uniform rate. If, in our little 
figure, the two shaded sections of the ellipse are equal 
in area, then, according to the second law of Kepler, 
the planet must take just as long to travel over the arc, 
H K, as it does to traverse the much greater arc, M N, 
because, as it departs from the sun, its velocity de- 
creases, and, as it approaches the sun, its velocity in- 
creases, which enables it to pass over a much greater 
arc in the same period of time when near the sun, or 

61 



THE FAMILY CELESTIAL 

perihelion, than that over which it passes when at the 
aphelion end of the ellipse. If the areas are not equal, 
the times required to traverse the intercepted arcs are 
proportional to the areas. 

Thus, the first of these laws defines the path pursued 
by the planet, while the second gives a description of 
its varying velocity as it traverses the different parts 
of its orbit Since the planets revolve around the sun 
in elliptical paths, it is but necessary, then, that the 
planets are nearer to the sun at one time than at an- 
other. The average distance, which may be found by 
taking the sum of the greatest and least of these quan- 
tities and dividing it by two, is called the mean dis- 
tance. By employing Kepler's third law — "The 
squares of the periodic times are proportional to the 
cubes of the mean distances" — we are able to make a 
comparison of the movements of two planets revolv- 
ing around the same sun. 

The "periodic time" of a planet is the number of 
days which it takes to complete one revolution around 
the sun, Kepler knew that the different planets have 
different periodic times, and that the greater the mean 
distance of any planet from the sun, the longer is its 
periodic time. The great thinker and philosopher then 
began to search for the purpose of discovering the re- 
lation between these two facts. By knowing the dis- 
tances of the several planets from the sun, he could 
readily perceive that it would be incorrect to say that 
the periodic time of any planet is proportional to the 
mean distance of that planet If this were true, a 
planet having twice the mean distance of another 
would have double the periodic time of the other; but 
it was found, by comparing the representative figures, 

62 



THE FAMILY CELESTIAL 

that the periodic time of the farther planet exceeded 
twice the periodic time of the nearer; in fact, it was 
found to be almost three times as great. Kepler, with 
unwavering perseverance and application, gave himself 
to the problem, until, at last, after many trials and 
hardships had been overcome, he found a solution of it, 
which he enunciated as above set forth. 

We may readily illustrate this law to our minds by 
comparing the relative positions of two planets. It 
is but a simple matter of calculation to consider the 
distance of one as unity and of the other as a frac- 
tional part, and then square the periodic times of each 
expressed in days, which shows as a result that the 
square of the greater number of days is to the square 
of the less in the same proportion as unity is to the 
cube of the fraction representing the mean distance 
of the nearer planet. Considering the mean distance 
of the earth from the sun as unity, then that of Venus 
is 0.7233 ; the periodic time of the earth expressed in 
days is 365.3 and that of Venus 224.7, from which fig- 
ures, according to the third of Kepler's laws, the fol- 
lowing equation concerning the relationship of the two 
planets is established : (365.3) 2 1(224.7) 2 : :i 1(0.7233) 3 . 

Thus Kepler elicited the three great laws of plan- 
etary motion, and firmly established them as independ- 
ent truths ; but Newton, by discovering the law of uni- 
versal gravitation, bound these laws into one indis- 
putable doctrine, and showed that an elliptic path is the 
only possible course that can be pursued by a heavenly 
body. No doubt, an object would follow a rectilinear 
path forever, if it were not deflected therefrom by the 
force of gravity exerted by some greater body and 
compelled to swerve in an elliptic orbit This immut- 

63 



THE FAMILY CELESTIAL 

able force extends throughout the immensity of space. 
The name and fame of these great men, Kepler and 
Newton, shall remain, ever increasing in dignity and 
magnanimity as long as time shall last. The glory of 
Kepler is as immortal as the laws elicited by him; be- 
cause they, standing as the fundamental doctrine of as- 
tronomy, reflect honor and greatness upon the name of 
him who freed them from the chaos of darkness and 
night. And, as one expresses it, has not Newton a 
name among the immortal ? How eagerly did he grasp 
the golden chain, swing from the eternal throne, and, 
with intense rapture and thrilling delight, climb up- 
ward, vibrate through the concave of the skies, gaze 
upon the stars, and bask in the glorious sunlight of 
eternal truth that blazed from the center of Deity! 
"Time's remorseless doom" can never shatter the in- 
tellectual pyramid erected by these two master minds. 



64 



MERCURY, THE PLANET NEAREST TO THE 

SUN 

Oh, Mercury! thou wing-footed herald of the celestials, 

Well dost thou do thy bidding, 
And set an ensample for human frailty 

To guide us on to higher destiny. 

We are often so dazzled by the wonderful genius 
and the remarkable discoveries of the modern age that 
we are apt not to be disposed to give the ancients 
proper credit for the magnificent part which they have 
had in laying the foundation for the future develop- 
ment of science. Our age is pregnant with so much 
that is profoundly remarkable, and fraught with so 
much that is really scientific in its nature, bringing 
into being new agencies and forces to illumine the 
pathway of human endeavor, that we are prone to re- 
gard the discoveries of the ancient world as common- 
place and mediocre. As lightly as we may consider 
the accomplishments of those philosophers who, dur- 
ing prehistoric times — for their names have not been 
transmitted to posterity, which is in itself evidence of 
the fact that they lived and wrought anterior to the 
dawn of history — gave themselves to the study of na- 
ture with their simple, child-like minds untrammeled 
by foolish sham and flimsy ambition, we shall never- 
theless have to accord them a sublime place in the 
annals of scientific research. Those ancient progeni- 
tors of ours, under the serenity of a cloudless sky as 
they kept watch over their flocks by night, had ample 

65 



THE FAMILY CELESTIAL 

opportunity to observe the movements of the stars and 
the changes which took place in the scenery of the 
heavens. 

How gloriously wonderful and singularly beautiful is 
it to watch the stars at eventime, when they begin "to 
peep from out the blue" as the angels draw aside the 
curtain and let them gaze upon us with their silver 
and golden light ! This thought is very beautifully ex- 
pressed by the poet in figurative form, when he says : 



The angels light their lamps above, 
Still mindful of their work of love." 



Doubtless it was on one of these glorious evenings 
in the far-off time that the planet Mercury was discov- 
ered. Hie patient watchers, familiar with the stars, 
having observed them from childhood, happened to 
glance across the broad desert plains toward the west 
where the last rays of the setting sun lingered above 
the horizon, and there mingling among them they saw 
a beautiful star, a lustrous gem. Day after day they 
watched the star, thinking that it would rise higher 
and higher in the heavens; but in this they were dis- 
appointed, for soon it closed in nearer to the sun, where 
it was lost to view for many months. After a long time 
the planet came into view again, possibly in the morn- 
ing as the herald of the day; and, when it had made 
its reappearance for several times, the astronomers 
were able, by timing its period of obscurity, to make 
predictions as to its future return. Thus, probably, 
was Mercury discovered in a period so far remote that 
a record of the event has not been preserved. 

Mercury may generally be seen during some period 
66 



THE FAMILY CELESTIAL 

of the year. By consulting the almanac, we may find 
the period of the year during which he is a morning or 
evening star, at which time we may get a good view of 
the shy planet as he wanders a short distance from his 
sovereign; for, although named for the messenger of 
the gods, he never ventures far from the protecting 
care of his chieftain. As near as Mercury is to the 
sun, it is believed by some astronomers that another 
planet, or planets, may lie between his orbit and the 
luminary; but the careful search of these persistent 
and persevering men of science has not yet been able 
to discover the supposed planet. Transits of Venus 
and Mercury across the face of the sun are not rare 
occurrences ; and the astronomers have been observing 
for over a century to see whether or not they might 
discover a new planet in the act of crossing the disc 
of the sun. On several occasions a small sun-spot has 
been mistaken for the "Planet of Romance/' This sup- 
posed planet has received the name of Vulcan, who was 
the god of fire among the Romans, probably from the 
fact that he is so near to the flaming chariot of the 
sun that he is obscured entirely by the brilliant rays of 
that beaming body. But, so far as we are able to de- 
termine, Mercury occupies the position nearest to the 
center of our solar system. 

By means of the telescope, Mercury may often be 
seen in broad daylight, not as a bright shining point, 
however, as when observed by the unaided vision, but 
frequently in the beautiful shape of a crescent, resem- 
bling a miniature new moon. Mercury is much larger 
than the moon, but he is so many times farther away 
from the earth that he dwindles into insignificance. In 
studying the moon, we spoke of the different phases 

67 



THE FAMILY CELESTIAL 

of that body which cause her to appear crescent- 
shaped when new, and then to develop to the full. The 
phases of Mercury may be accounted for by the same 
course of reasoning as that to which we resorted in 
explaining those of the moon. The planet has no in- 
herent light, being, like the moon and the earth, illumi- 
nated by the rays of the sun. Since that hemisphere 
which is turned toward the sun is brilliantly lighted up, 
we are able to see nothing of the non-illuminated sur- 
face and probably only a small part of the lighted sur- 
face, which must necessarily have the shape of a cres- 
cent. When the planet is at extremes, that is, nearest 
and farthest from the earth, he presents the appear- 
ance of a sphere; but, when he occupies the interme- 
diate positions, he appears to be but partially illumi- 
nated, presenting the beautiful crescent effect. When 
he is nearest to the earth, his bright face is toward the 
sun, thus rendering him invisible to us, or nearly so. 

The planet is so near to the sun that it is impossible 
to get a clear view of his surface. Attempts have been 
made to ascertain the character of his surface, and re- 
ports have been recorded as to the observation of cer- 
tain lineal markings across it; but such attempts have 
been rather futile in establishing any real knowledge as 
to the configurations of the planet. 

In our preliminary survey of the solar system, we 
made mention of the fact that Mercury completes one 
revolution around the sun in a period of eighty-eight 
days, and that his mean distance from the sun is about 
36,000,000 miles. The orbit of this planet is an ellipse 
of so much eccentricity that he sometimes approaches 
within 29,000,000 miles of the sun and then recedes to 
a distance of about 43,000,000 miles. According to 

68 




I. Transit of Mercury. 
2. Venus, Crescent Plan. 



(VI., p, 69.), 



THE FAMILY CELESTIAL 

Kepler's second law of planetary motion, Mercury 
must sweep with increased velocity over that part of 
his orbit which is nearest to the sun, and with de- 
creased velocity along that part which is farthest away 
from the central luminary. His velocity ranges from 
twenty-three to thirty-five miles per second, according 
to his distance from the sun, from which a mean or 
average velocity of twenty-nine miles per second is ob- 
tained. This, no doubt, is a terrific rate of speed when 
compared with that of any terrestrial object, such as 
a rifle bullet ; but, if we take into consideration the vol- 
ume of the planet, we shall see that, although the bullet 
passes over the distance of its diameter many thou- 
sand times per second, and that the speed of Mercury 
is at least one hundred times that of the rifle bullet, yet 
it takes the planet something like two minutes to trav- 
erse the distance of his diameter, which fact proves 
that his speed is not out of proportion to his dimen- 
sions. 

If we were to divide Mercury's short year of eighty- 
eight days into twelve periods as we divide the terres- 
trial year, each month would be just one-third of a day 
longer than one of our weeks, and a whole season 
would be only three weeks and one day; while the in- 
terval between mid-summer and mid-winter would 
la'ck one day of being a month and a half. On account 
of the eccentricity of the planet's orbit and the brevity 
of the year, in the short period of six weeks the sun 
would rise to double his apparent size, while the quan- 
tity of light and heat emitted by him would increase ac- 
cordingly. The terms "aphelion" and "perihelion" 

69 



THE FAMILY CELESTIAL 

mean respectively "away from the sun" and "near to 
the sun," and, although we on the earth attach no sig- 
nificance to these expressions, because the slight 
changes of the earth's distance from the sun are inap- 
preciable insofar as the apparent size of that body is 
concerned, yet to the inhabitants of Mercury, if he has 
any — and who can doubt that life in some of its many 
and varied forms exists there — these terms are fraught 
with the greatest variety of changes in the vacillating 
phenomena of his climate. 

Mercury is so much nearer to the sun than is the 
earth that, when he is at aphelion, the intensity of solar 
radiation is more than quadruple that which the latter 
body receives ; but, when he draws in to the position of 
perihelion, fully nine times as much heat must be in- 
tercepted by him as a result of the sun's radiation as 
is received by the earth. The temperature there must 
indeed be scorching. But it is really impossible for us 
to give any decided account of the climatic conditions 
of a planet with reference to its position in the solar 
system, that is, its proximity or remoteness from the 
source of its heat and light. The density of the atmos- 
phere of any planet will necessarily cause a variation 
in its climate with reference to heat and cold. From 
Mercury's position, it is hardly probable that life ap- 
proximating that of the human species and of the 
higher brute creation could exist on that planet. As 
to the habitability of Mercury, it will, doubtless, re- 
main for ages to come enshrouded in the mists of ob- 
scurity. 

Mercury resembles the moon in one respect, if we 
accept the discovery made by the distinguished Italian 
astronomer, Professor Schiaparelli ; for, according to 

70 



THE FAMILY CELESTIAL 

his theory, just as the moon revolves around the earth 
keeping the same hemisphere turned toward us all the 
time, so does Mercury make his revolutions around the 
sun, directing one hemisphere into the light of eternal 
sunshine and the other into the shades of perpetual 
darkness. From this we see that the period of axial 
rotation consists not of a few hours, or the extent of 
one day, as is the case on the earth, but it extends 
throughout the entire year. We might expect such a 
status of affairs as this simply from the fact that Mer- 
cury has no satellite to occasion tides on and within 
himself. But, on account of his proximity to the sun, 
the solar tides of Mercury must attain an excessive 
degree of flow and ebb. The tendency of the tides is 
to compel the planet to present a constant hemisphere 
to the sun. If in attendance on the planet there were 
a satellite of such considerable proportions that a 
great lunar tidal wave swung around that body, then 
in all probability Mercury would possess an axial ro- 
tation altogether different from that which at present 
exists there. 

Mercury is so elusive in his nature, and remains so 
near the sun, that the astronomers have found some 
difficulty in determining his mass. However, his 
weight is estimated to be so much less than that of 
the earth that it would require twenty-five or thirty 
globes the size of Mercury to balance the earth. 

It may not be out of place here to note the analogy 
existing between Mercury and the mineral which bears 
his name. We find that quicksilver has such mobil- 
ity attaching to it that, when it accidently escapes from 
the vessel in which we had it confined, it is almost 
impossible for us to gather it together again, and 

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especially so since it collects into little globes like shot, 
which go rolling about in every direction. So Mercury 
himself, as we have previously stated, is of such an 
elusive character that we are not able to give him 
the close study which we are permitted to bestow upon 
some of the other planets. It would be a priceless 
treasure to us if we were thoroughly familiar with 
not only the physical structure of Mercury, but also 
with that of every planet in our mighty system. But 
our finite conceptions must remain content with what 
they possess, until the veil of ignorance is pushed aside 
and we are able to comprehend the incomprehensible. 



72 



VENUS, THE TWIN SISTER OF 
THE EARTH. 



Thou fair-haired angel of the evening, 
Now, whilst the sun rests on the mountain, light 

Thy brilliant torch of love; thy radiant crown 
Put on, and smile upon our evening bed! 

Smile on our loves; and, whilst thou drawest round 
The curtains of the sky, scatter thy dew 

On every flower that closes its sweet eyes 
In timely sleep. Let thy west wind sleep on 

The lake; speak silence with thy glimmering eyes, 
And wash the dusk with silver. Soon, full soon 

Dost thou withdraw; then the wolf rages wide, 
And then the lion glares through the dun forest. 

The fleeces of our flocks are covered with 
Thy sacred dew: protect them with thine influence. 



Venus, because she is almost as large as the earth, 
has been called by some the twin sister of our planet. 
On account of her exceptional brilliancy and beauty, 
the ancients named her for their goddess of beauty and 
of love. And, indeed, it was but natural for them 
to associate this beautiful star with the fabled goddess ; 
for, as she presided over the household of the gods 
with quiet dignity, shedding her beauty and influence 
on her celestial companions, so does the star bearing 
her name emanate to the heavenly spheres around her 

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luster and splendor, retaining for herself the title that 
she has ever held, that of being the unrivalled queen 
of the firmament. 

By this we do not mean to say that Venus is the 
largest star in our system; but simply that she is 
near enough to us, and also of dimensions sufficiently 
large, to cause her to appear to us brighter by many 
times than any other star that glitters in the serene 
depths of heaven. Indeed she is so brilliant that, when 
favorably located in the sky, she may be seen in open 
daylight while the sun still lingers above the horizon to 
illumine the "listening earth." 

Venus, like the other celestial bodies, is very pre- 
cise in her movements and changes, as may readily 
be seen by observing the almanac ; but to one who does 
not familiarize himself with this work her actions may 
seem somewhat capricious. For a long time the 
famous queen has not been observed; indeed, she has 
hardly been thought of, when lo ! we cast our eyes 
toward the western horizon where the lingering rays 
of the sun illuminate the Elysian Fields of the sunset, 
and there we behold deep-seated on a throne of golden 
beauty Venus, the queen of evening, bedecked with her 
jewels. It is a pleasure, indeed, to observe her as 
she glitters in the sunset glow, and to follow her eve- 
ning after evening until she reaches the fulness of her 
splendor. The beauteous transformation which en- 
sues is like that of a glorious human being as his 
mind expands to comprehend the hitherto incompre- 
hensible, and soars away from the dust of sordid 
earth to the magic life of divine apprehension. 

After Venus has been evening star for a long period 
of time, she gradually changes her position from the 

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western to the eastern sky, where she shines as the 
bright morning star. Here her splendor again rivals 
the glory of her evening vigil as she climbs the eastern 
sky the herald of the day. When evening star, she 
dissipates the gloom of night, making it beautiful in- 
stead of terrible and oppressive; and, when she is 
morning star, her light is but the percursor of that 
of the golden sun, which is to dawn into the splendor 
of day. For Venus to go through all these changes 
requires a period of nineteen months, at the end of 
which time she commences again to pass the same 
routine of transformation. 

When Venus has reached the zenith of her splendor, 
she is from forty to sixty times as bright as any other 
stellar point in the northern skies. Nothwithstanding 
her exceptional brilliancy, she, like the other planets 
and satellites, shines by reflected light. Our own 
planet shines almost as brightly as Venus, the latter 
being somewhat more illuminated since she is nearer to 
the sun. Venus, like the moon, because of her posi- 
tion with reference to the earth and the sun, presents 
a crescent appearance. We are able to see only the 
part illuminated by the sun, which, to the unaided 
vision, appears to be a glittering starlike point; but, 
when it is observed with the telescope, the beautiful 
shape of the crescent is distinctly discerned. Some- 
times the crescent is very thin like that of the new 
moon, and from this its different aspects vary in shape 
and form until the planet attains her full. 

By observing the position of certain spots on the 
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surface of Venus, Schiaparelli, the Italian astronomer, 
demonstrated to the scientific world that this planet, 
like Mercury, presents the same hemisphere to the 
sun all the time, thus making the period of her axial 
rotation equal to that of her revolution around the 
sun — 225 of our days. From this we see that the 
day of Mercury and Venus is of the same period of 
duration as their year, which seemingly singular coin- 
cidence results from the fact that these planets have 
no satellites to occasion the occurrence of tides to con- 
flict with the tide-producing power of the sun and thus 
divide the year into daily periods; and here lies the 
striking contrast between the planets which have 
satellites and those which have none. This annual 
day on the planets which have no satellites would not 
be compatible with the habits of such creatures as those 
who form the human species; and yet, in the case of 
Venus, where indications point to the fact that an at- 
mosphere probably exists and where the spectroscope 
reveals the presence of water vapor, it might not be 
beyond credulity to infer that the habitability of that 
planet approximates that of the earth. Of course, since 
Venus is nearer to the sun than is the earth, she inter- 
cepts more of his heat and light; but there are many 
modifying agencies which in a measure tend to 
counteract and modify the intensity and effect of these 
forces on our globe, and the same may be true with 
respect to Venus and the other planets as well. And, 
too, as we approach the equator, where the greatest 
heat is found, the exuberance and luxuriance of life, 
both animal and vegetable, are ever increasing, until 
at the point of excessive heat and moisture life is most 
abundant. Life like that on the earth would not be 

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possible, if oxygen were not a constituent element of 
the planet's atmosphere; therefore, if oxygen be pres- 
ent on Venus, there might be life on that planet not 
essentially different from some forms found on the 
earth. 

The earth and Venus are almost the same size, the 
diameter of the latter body being only about 218 miles 
less than that of the former. When we compare the 
mass of Venus with that of the sun, we let the figure 
1 represent the mass of the planet and 425,000 that of 
the luminary, which indicates that Venus is only the 
1/425,000 part of the weight of the sun. When com- 
pared with the earth, the mass of Venus is about three- 
fourths that of our planet. The specific gravity or 
density of Venus is about 4.85, which means that 
Venus weighs 4.85 times as much as a globe of water 
of equal size; while that of the earth is about 5.58. 

In studying the force of gravitation, we found that 
a body let fall on the earth traverses about sixteen feet 
in the initial second of its descent; but in the case 
of Venus the body would fall only about thirteen feet 
in the first second, on account of the lessened force of 
gravity. 

The orbit of Venus approaches so nearly to the circle 
that the greatest distance of the planet from the cen- 
tral luminary is not one per cent, more than the least. 
This indicates that the velocity of the planet does not 
vary so much as the velocity of those planets which 
have far more eccentric orbits, its mean rate of speed 
being about twenty-two miles per second. 

The transit of Venus across the disc of the sun is 
an occurrence more rare than that of Mercury, only 
two having taken place during the ninteenth century, 

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while the twentieth century will not have the privilege 
of recording the event at all. In 1874 and again in 
1882 the transit of Venus claimed the attention of as- 
tronomers throughout Christendom. Notwithstanding 
the fact that there are many more wonderful and strik- 
ing phenomena in the realm of astronomical observa- 
tion, the two transits of Venus above referred to re- 
ceived such a degree of attention as had never before 
in the history of the science been accorded to any as- 
tronomical phenomenon. 

If the transit of a planet is not so beautiful and 
striking as an eclipse, a shower of meteors, or the ap- 
pearance of a grand comet, why should it be accorded 
such a unique place in the annals of astronomy? Of 
what scientific importance is the transit of a planet 
across the disc of the sun? In itself it is insignificant; 
but, when taken as a basis upon which to calculate 
the stupendous proportions of our solar system, it at 
once assumes a position of paramount importance. It 
is the phenomenon which gives to us the scale upon 
which is constructed the wonderful solar system with 
its component members — the sun, the planets, the satel- 
lites, the meteors, and the comets. All these follow 
their prescribed paths around the sun, and it is the 
knowledge conveyed by the transit of Venus which 
gives us the distance to the sun and enables us to com- 
pute the distance of the various planets from one an- 
other and from the center of the sysetm. No greater 
problem has ever engaged the mind of man since first 
he began to investigate the plenitude of nature. 

After securing the scale upon which our system is 
constructed, which is made possible by the occur- 
rence of the transit, we are then able to determine the 

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size of the sun and of the planets and the distances of 
their revolving satellites, and also the number of miles 
to which the wandering and wavering comets recede 
and the velocity of the shooting stars. Truly, this is 
the key to unlock to us the hidden mysteries relative 
to the size and shape of the solar system. 

Since the orbit of Venus around the sun is far less 
than that of the earth, and since that body moves 
with a greater velocity than that of our planet, it is 
but natural that the earth must be frequently passed by 
Venus as she dashes around the sun. And, since the 
earth is overtaken by Venus once every year and seven 
months, it seems that there should be a transit at the 
occurrence of each of these passages. But this is so 
far from being the case that frequently over a hun- 
dred years must elapse before a recurrence of the 
phenomenon will ensue. If the earth and Venus lay 
in exactly the same plane, a transit would occur every 
time that Venus passed the earth; but, since the path 
of the planet is inclined to the plane of the earth's 
orbit, half of the orbit of Venus must be above the 
plane of the earth's orbit, while the other half must 
be below; so that, when Venus overtakes the earth, a 
straight line drawn through the two planets will not 
usually intersect the sun, but will pass over or under 
that body. But, should the planets pass each other at 
either of the points where their orbits intersect, a 
transit of Venus will occur, because the sun is then 
in a direct line with the two planets. The transit of 
a planet is similar in some respects to an eclipse, the 
material difference being found in the fact that the 
planet is too small or too far away from the observer 
to obscure the sun. 

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It seems somewhat singular that there should be 
two transits separated by a period of only eight years, 
and then followed by an interval of over a century be- 
fore the recurrence of another. In 1761 and again in 
1769 a transit of Venus occurred; but it was not until 
1874 that the phenomenon was again witnessed, fol- 
lowed at the end of eight years by another. It will 
not be until 2004 that the next transit will occur; but 
this will be followed by another in the year 2012. The 
reason why the transits occur in pairs is to be found in 
the fact that the periodic time of one planet bears a 
remarkable relation to that of the other. Venus com- 
pletes thirteen revolutions around the sun in approxi- 
mately the same period of time that the earth requires 
to make eight revolutions, from which fact it is evi- 
dent that, if the two planets were in line with the sun 
in 1874, they were again in almost the same position 
in 1882, and another transit of Venus was the result. 
We must not infer from this, however, that a transit 
will occur at the end of each eight-year interval, be- 
cause it is only approximately true that thirteen rev- 
olutions of Venus c6incide with eight revolutions of 
our planet, and the two bodies do not resume the same 
position with sufficient accuracy for a recurrence of 
the phenomenon. At the end of the second eight-year 
interval, then, no transit occurred ; for, although Venus 
passed very near the sun, yet a line drawn through 
the two planets would have failed to intersect that 
body. 

Although in the history of the race the transit of 
Venus has occurred hundreds of times, yet the re- 
corded observations of the phenomenon are very few 
indeed. The great astronomer Kepler foretold that a 

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transit would occur in 1631, and, although Gassendi 
diligently gave himself to the study of the phenomenon, 
yet he nor anyone was able to see it because it oc- 
curred at night, which made it invisible to European 
observers. Eight years later, in 1639, occurred an- 
other transit, which was observed by two astronomers, 
Horrocks and Crabtree. 

But it was left to the great astronomer Halley to 
explain how the distance of the sun can be ascertained 
by the transit of Venus. This is accomplished by 
applying the principle of conception known as the 
parallax. This is readily perceived by placing some 
object in a vertical position several feet in front of 
the eyes, and then, by closing one eye and now the 
other, observing the change which takes place with 
respect to whatever forms a background. The nearer 
we approach the object, the more does the apparent 
displacement increase; and the farther we recede, the 
less does it become. Thus we see that the displace- 
ment varies in the opposite way to the distance, from 
which we are able to measure the amount of dis- 
placement and then calculate the distance from us to 
the vertical object. 

We can apply the principle by using the sun as a 
background and Venus as the object; for the eyes we 
place two observatories in distant regions of the globe, 
and then look at Venus from one observatory and note 
the amount of displacement which results when we 
observe her from the other. After measuring the 
amount of displacement, we can calculate the distance 
of the planet and also the distance of the sun, which 
is the scale of the solar system. 

Taking all things into consideration, it is doubtful 
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whether a more interesting body than Venus exists in 
the solar system. We know very little about her; but 
it is interesting and instructive to seek for truth with 
regard to the object of our research; for truth, exist- 
ing forever, is eternal whether we discover it or not. 
Without truth, which is eternity's base, no other virtue 
can possibly exist 



THE EARTH— OUR MOTHER. 

Our little systems have their day; 
They have their day and cease to be: 
They are but broken lights of Thee, 

And Thou, O Lord, art more than they. 

We owe so much to the earth, and know so much 
more about her than we do of any other planet, that 
we may with propriety depart from the strict astron- 
omical consideration of the subject and briefly touch 
other matters as well. In writing the story of our 
planet there are many wonderful thoughts, touching 
her present, past and future, which occur to our mind. 
We see the wonder and beauty and splendor of her 
present civilization ; we marvel at the glorious achieve- 
ments of past epochs ; and we wonder what of magnifi- 
cence and grandeur in the way of enlightenment and 
the discovery of latent truth the future holds in store 
for us. We must ultimately conclude that mankind, 
the inhabitants of our planet — for we are ignorant of 
the existence and actions of beings on other planets — 
are tending slowly but surely toward the perfection of 
the ideal ; it is the march of progress with matter and 
ignorance as its beginning and the soul and wisdom 
as its culmination. The entire transformation is a 
struggle to pass from ignorance to intelligence, from 
darkness to light. The story of our little mother and 
her children is fraught with the most intense interest 
from the beginning; but it would require volumes to 
express this story with any degree of fulness, and 

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so we shall simply note a few of the many things 
which relate to the earth and to mankind. 

Our planet is one of the smaller members of the 
solar system. She is an oblate spheroid with her polar 
diameter about 27 miles shorter than her equatorial 
diameter. The earth's specific gravity is 5.58, or, in 
other words, she weighs about five and one-half times 
as much as a globe of water of equal size would weigh. 
We need not be surprised to find this true, because the 
earth is composed of substances of weighty material — 
rocks on the surface and molten iron, greatly com- 
pressed by the weight above it, in the interior. 

We must understand that the force of gravity 
exerted by one body may not be the same as that 
exerted by another. When we weigh an object, we 
simply measure the force or pull which the earth by 
the property of gravity exerts over that object. An 
object weighing one hundred pounds on the earth 
would weigh only about sixteen or seventeen pounds 
if transferred to the moon; while, if the same object 
were taken to the sun, it would weigh about twenty- 
seven hundred pounds. A man weighing on the earth 
one hundred and eighty pounds would weigh only 
thirty pounds on the moon, but the force of gravity 
would be so great on the sun that he would weigh two 
and one-half tons. On the moon he might move about 
with the ease of a beetle, while on the sun it would 
be impossible for him to sustain himself or even lift his 
arm. He would spread out into a wafer. On the 
moon he might run and jump with terrific speed, han- 
dle objects of immense proportions, and hurl a ball or 
rock a half mile or more. This force of gravity varies 
with the size and density of the globe, being greater on 

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Venus than on the moon, greater on the earth than on 
Venus, greater on the larger planets than on the 
smaller, until we reach the majestic Jupiter and the 
mighty sun himself. 

It is impossible for us to tell the age of the earth. 
If we accept the nebular theory, the earth, like the 
other celestial bodies, evolved from some diffused mass, 
increasing in heat as it condensed until it attained the 
liquid or semi-solid state, after which it began grad- 
ually to cool until a solid crust was formed, and it 
became a place fit for the habitation of living beings. 
There are many existing phenomena, such as hot- 
springs, geysers, and volcanoes, which prove that the 
earth is still intensely heated; but in the far distant 
future all this intense heat will have been exhausted 
and the earth will be, like the moon, cold as the tem- 
perature of space. 

It has been concluded by the philosophers that heat 
possesses great astronomical significance. If the moon 
has lost her heat and is now cold, and the earth and 
other planets are radiating their heat, must we not 
arrive at the conclusion that the sun is losing his heat 
also, especially since he is radiating it in all directions 
with the utmost prodigality? The law of cooling il- 
lustrates to us that every body radiates heat, and the 
quantity of heat which it radiates increases when the 
temperature of the body increases. All of the suns and 
planets are pouring into space a never-ceasing stream 
of heat, which is productive of very momentous con- 
sequences. 

Our great luminary emits in all directions an inces- 
sant flood of radiant energy in the form of heat, a 
minute part of which is intercepted by the earth. How 

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long will the sun be able to continue the emission of 
heat and thus supply the earth and the other planets? 
To answer this question, we shall simply indicate the 
present enormous heat of the sun, from which we 
shall be able to infer that for ages to come the sun 
will furnish the encircling worlds with heat and light. 

The greatest artificial temperature which we are able 
to produce is about 4,000 degrees Fahr., and from this 
we assume the temperature of the sun to be at least 
10,000 degrees higher, or about 14,000 degrees Fahr. 
The outflow of heat from the sun is in proportion to 
his tremendous temperature. It has been computed 
that the sun woud in one minute melt a shell of ice 
433/2 feet surrounding his entire surface. Sir John 
Herschel estimated that a cylindrical glacier 45 miles 
in diameter would melt as rapidly as it advanced, even 
though it were plunged into the sun with the velocity 
of light. We are told again that from each square foot 
of the sun's surface emerges a quantity of heat equal 
to that which might be produced by the daily com- 
bustion of sixteen tons of coal. Just a few acres of 
his surface radiate sufficient heat, if it were properly 
transformed into work, to propel all the machinery in 
the world. When we consider the stupendous dimen- 
sions of the sun and the vast intensity of his radia- 
tion, our imaginations fail to comprehend the vastness 
of the expenditure of heat. 

Since it is from the generosity of the sun that the 
earth is able to supply sustenance to her teeming mil- 
lions of beings, we inquire whether the sun may not 
be exhausting his resources, and, if so, what are the 
prospects for the future? The thousands of years of 
history do not record any change in the sun and in 

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the temperature of those parts of the earth where man 
has all the while dwelled. There was an age of enor- 
mous temperature of the earth which produced the 
mighty vegetation of the coal period, and in diametrical 
opposition to that we are reminded of the existence of 
the age which caused the formation of the glacial sheet ; 
the coal period suggests to us that the earth was hotter 
then than she is now, and the glacial period that she 
was colder than at present; from which we cannot 
reconcile our minds as to the sun's expenditure of 
heat, but must come to the conclusion that the two 
periods above mentioned were caused by changes in 
the earth herself, or by changes in her orbital path. 
These ages, then, give us very little knowledge relative 
to the past history of the sun. 

The sun, being so much larger than the planets, cools 
far more slowly; but his heat, if not recruited from 
some source, must eventually become exhausted. If 
the sun were a mass of solid coal burning in pure oxy- 
gen, the heat produced would suffice for only 6,000 
years, a period hardly so long as that of authentic his- 
tory. If the sun which shone upon the children of 
the ancient world had been composed of solid coal, 
he would now be exhausted in consequence of his 
efforts to maintain his rate of expenditure of heat. 

The heat of the sun is in a small degree recruited 
by the masses of meteoric matter which falls upon 
his surface. On account of the massive size of the sun, 
he is able to entrap a multitude of shooting stars, each 
of which must be attended by a flash of light and 
heat; and, although it has been supposed that the 
sun may possibly be re-invigorated from this source, 
we shall consider the plausibility of the view by esti- 

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mating the amount of meteoric matter which would 
be sufficient to maintain the present heat of the sun. 
It is estimated that, if the moon were crushed into a 
multitude of fragmentary particles and rained in on 
the surface of the sun, the shower would supply him 
with sufficient heat to sustain his present rate of radi- 
ation for more than a year. The earth treated in a 
similar manner would supply this radiant energy for 
nearly one hundred years; Jupiter would scorch the 
solar system, or, if properly disbursed, he would suf- 
fice to cause the sun to emit his present amount of heat 
for 30,000 years; while all the planets of our system 
would be capable of producing sufficient heat, if prop- 
erly economized, to supply the sun with radiant energy 
for 45,000 years. 

The question for consideration is this : Does a 
shower of meteors equal in mass to the moon dash into 
the sun annually? From scientific reasoning we are 
led to conclude that this is not the case. If space 
were so filled with meteoric rock that the sun might 
annually capture a moon-weight of these little bodies, 
the probability is that so many meteors would dash into 
the earth and heat her to such an extent as to render 
her uninhabitable. Again, if such an enormous mass 
of meteoric matter existed in the vicinity of the sun, 
the planet Mercury would be affected to such a degree 
as to cause him to fluctuate in his movements more 
than is his present wont. Thus we see that the sun 
must have his radiant energy in the form of heat sup- 
plied from some other source or condition. 

Scientists have endeavored to solve this momentous 
problem in a characteristic manner. A great mass of 
matter widely diffused is supposed to be suspended 

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in space — and such masses do really exist in the form 
of planetary nebulae. This globe radiates heat, and, 
for the purpose of our present supposition, we shall 
conclude that it emits more heat than it receives from 
other bodies. Now, although this great mass is im- 
parting its heat, it is incorrect to assume that its tem- 
perature is decreasing; for, governed by the law of 
heat and gases, the temperature must necessarily in- 
crease in intensity. The surface layers of the gas- 
eous mass, as they cool, are drawn by the force of 
gravity toward the center of the globe ; and, as the con- 
traction takes place, energy in the form of heat is 
produced. This heat is in part radiated away, but 
the contraction produces it more rapidly than radia- 
tion can expend it, in consequence of which the globe 
is losing heat and contracting, although its temperature 
is actually increasing.* 

As the body contracts, it increases in density until 
it becomes a liquid or a solid, when it no longer obeys 
the laws of a purely gaseous body, but decreases in 
temperature until it becomes as cold as space itself. 
Our sun is now passing from the gaseous stage to that 
of the solid. If his diameter were to diminish 500 feet 
annually, which would yield sufficient energy to ac- 
count for the entire amount of radiation, this would 
be such a minute part of his enormous volume that he 
would continue to exist for ages. At this rate, his 
diameter would decrease about one mile in ten years ; 
therefore, one hundred years ago his diameter must 
have been about ten miles greater than at present ; while 
one thousand years ago it was hundred miles greater, 
and ten thousand years ago it was one thousand miles 
greater. But these figures are but the minutest frac- 

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tion of the 866,000 miles of his diameter. We gaze 
into the abyss of the past, and there we see our mighty 
sun expanding and expanding, with a corresponding 
decrease in his density, until he becomes twice, ten, 
or one hundred times as large as he is at present, a 
mighty nebulous mass filling an immense region of 
space. The same course of reasoning applies equally 
well to each of the planets, for, as was set forth in 
the study of the moon, each of these might have 
evolved from a nucleal point in this immense mass of 
gaseous matter. However this may be, for ages to 
come the sun will dispense light and heat to his planets 
and satellites, and we shall not suffer for the neces- 
sities of life. 

*Radium and its marvelous properties, only recently 
discovered, suggest the probability that the sun's heat 
may be partly rejuvenated from another source. 

The earth, supplemented by the sun's radiant en- 
ergy, supplies us with the elements essential to life. 
Water, air, soil, minerals, gases, all elementary forces, 
may change their form, but they cannot be destroyed, 
for they are primordial and immortal. In a multitude 
of ways they minister to our comfort and fulfill the 
purpose of their Creator. Every natural force and 
agent exists for a purpose, and it is the province of 
man to discover an application for each of these primal 
elements. He has accomplished results little short of 
the marvelous. His achievements since the dawn of 
history have been almost enough to stagger credulity, 
and still there is much more to be accomplished in 
every line of industry and development, and in every 
phase of scientific research. It would be absurd to 
believe, then, that man has discovered an application 

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THE FAMILY CELESTIAL 

for all the forces of nature, or, really, that he is familiar 
with the forces ai T ah. In the realms of philosophic 
thought and scientific researcE, £s great and: marvelo ; 
as his achievements have been, man is yet an infant. 
We have made wonderful progress h. numerous direc- 
tions during these **** id yet the ooek- sxfftts 
up our efforts ver> ..aly when he says: 

"As we surpass our father's skill, 
Our sons will shame our own; 

A thousand things are hidden still, 
And not a hundred known." 

Every potent though :, -, par* ^opd impulse, even, 
adds to the sum total of the world's achievement; all 
the efforts of the race to lead men to a knowledge of 
the true and the beautiful — for, as one says, the object 
of all knowledge is to enlarge and purify the soul, to fill 
the mind with noble contemplations, and to furnish a 
refined pleasure — make the summit of human achieve- 
ment and earthly glory broader and higher throughout 
the ceaseless annals of eternity. And all shall not have 
been accomplished until that state of perfection is at- 
tained "toward which the whole creation moves." 

Since we are studying the history of our planet, 
we shall for a few moments deviate from the purely 
scientific discussion of the subject and lightly touch the 
story of human achievement and human progress. The 
history of the race is a record of the development and 
progress by which it has attained its present state of 
civilization and enlightenment. This advancement has 
been made by various stages, as impulses have been 
brought to bear upon it; and the greatest of these im- 
pulsive forces have been conquests, race conflicts, col- 

91 



THE FAMILY CELESTIAL 

onizations, discoveries, and inventions. The flower and 
fruit of civilization has grown from the rocky soil of 
conflict, cultivated by sages and seers throughout long 
and tedious periods of political and social unrest, and 
receiving an impetus in its stage of development from 
the fertilizing thoughts and ideas of all the great and 
wise men of every age since the time of Solomon and 
Socrates. Every generation has added its quota to the 
pyramid of civilization, building it firmer and stronger 
and higher, until now, with its summit capped with the 
tranquil peace and prosperity of humanity's harvest, it 
bids fair to attain a glory and splendor that shall dazzle 
and illumine the race in its march toward the perfec- 
tion of the ideal. 

Every country, however small and insignificant, has 
in some way contributed to swell the stream and cur- 
rent of universal history. This wonderful river of 
human experience is still gaining power, ever pro- 
pelling us onward toward the millennium of truth. 
But it is not our purpose to take up the thread of civi- 
lization and follow it through the winding corridors of 
history's labyrinth; we simply wish to note a few sig- 
nificant landmarks along the path of progress. 

Civilization has passed through three great periods 
or stages of development — the potamic, or river stage ; 
the thalassic, or inland sea stage ; and the oceanic stage. 
These three ages have received their names from the 
bodies of water upon which the race first built its cities 
and settlements, and, therefore, may be termed re- 
spectively the River Epoch, the Sea Epoch, and the 
Ocean Epoch. 

During the River Epoch civilization was confined to 
the river valleys, like the Nile, the Tigris, and the 

92 



THE FAMILY CELESTIAL 

Euphrates. Upon the banks of these rivers great cit- 
ies rose, flourished, decayed, and passed into history, 
after having borne the torch of civilization and trans- 
mitted it to illumine larger areas. This was the in- 
ceptive period of the world's history. 

The Sea Epoch was that period in the history of 
the world when the dominant nations grew up around 
the Mediterranean, and made that sea the arena of 
man's transcending achievement. Very appropriately, 
indeed, has the Mediterranean been called the cradle 
of civilization. On its glassy waters the fleets of those 
nations carried on maritime trade one with another, 
and their story is the world's history, they having made 
this great sea the theatre of their action drama. The 
age in question was ushered in, during the second mil- 
lennium before the Christian era, by the Phoenicians, 
the bold navigators of the time. We owe much to the 
Phoenicians, because it was they who gathered the 
seeds of the wisdom of the Orient and disseminated 
them throughout the nations of the west, where they 
have blossomed and produced marvelous fruit. Their 
civilization and culture, their arts and sciences and 
literatures, are the basis and foundation of ours; and 
for this reason the Mediterranean nations are looked 
upon by us as an epoch-making force in the annals of 
creation. 

The Ocean Epoch was opened up by the voyages 
and discoveries of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. 
During this period the great oceans have ceased to be 
barriers to human progress, but have become the high- 
way of the nations, by which the world's intercourse 
and commerce are greatly facilitated. From these facts 
we observe that man has possessed himself of all the 

93 



THE FAMILY CELESTIAL 

divisions of the earth — the rivers, the seas, and the 
oceans — and that the objects of his later conquests 
must be the currents of air and oceans of atmosphere 
enveloping the dome of the heavens, and forming for 
him stupendous highways of trade and travel. 

Man is coming to utilize more and more the forces 
of nature in carrying on his gigantic enterprises; for 
by individual labor alone the capacity of the human 
race to produce wealth is not much greater to-day than 
it was centuries ago, that is the power of unaided 
human labor has not materially increased. But the 
world has greatly increased in industries and enter- 
prises as a result of the application of natural forces 
by the intelligence of man ; for, when nature is brought 
into service, whether it drives an engine propelling a 
train of cars across the land or a mighty ship across 
the deep, pumps water, turns a mill-wheel, flashes 
messages, or what not, it is doing what human muscle 
would have to do, if the result were to be accomplished 
at all. The same is true wherever steam, electricity, 
gravitation, wind, water, or any natural force is used. 

Now, is there not the probability that man will dis- 
cover some even greater force in nature to aid him 
still further in travel, transportation, and in a multitude 
of other ways as well? We know that electricity and 
gravitation, in its astronomical sense, are forces re- 
cently discovered, comparatively speaking; we know 
also that man is annihilating space by various appli- 
ances and by introducing ballons and aeroplanes as a 
means of travel. And here is a thought which almost 
transforms itself into a prophecy of the golden future 
of aerial navigation: Why may there not exist in 
nature certain forces of electricity, gravitation, mag- 

94 



THE FAMILY CELESTIAL 

netism, etc., wihch may be so related one to the other 
as to enable man to suspend an airship in space several 
hundred feet above the earth, and made so to act and 
react one upon another as to cause the earth to lose 
her attraction for the ship; and, while the ship itself 
should be at rest, the earth would turn under it toward 
the east at the rate of one thousand miles per hour 
(for the earth rotates on her axis so rapidly as to 
traverse the 25,000 miles of her circumference in 
twenty-four hours, the period of her day), so that in 
a few hours the aviator should find himself leaving 
the western shores of our continent, entering the broad 
expanse of the mighty Pacific, traversing Asia and 
Europe, crossing the stormy Atlantic, and landing on 
the American continent, having circumnavigated the 
globe in twenty- four hours? With the atmosphere 
rushing by him at such a tremendous velocity, it would 
be impossible as we understand it now for the aviator 
to exist. Also the gravity of the earth would have 
to be divided in such a way as not to lose her force 
or influence over the ship entirely, so that it should 
not be left in space as the earth sped away at the rate 
of eighteen miles per second. The idea is to release 
the earth's attraction to such an extent that she might 
revolve under the ship but still retain sufficient control 
over it to keep it in her wake. These and all kindred 
difficulties would be overcome by years of experiments. 
Of course, the aviator, wishing to land at any place, 
would have to be in possession of some power to 
counteract the existing forces, and then at the psycho- 
logical moment descend upon the spot desired. 

With such forces of nature to aid him, man could 
accomplish more than ever before. We know not what 

95 



THE FAMILY CELESTIAL 

the future has in store for mankind; but the history of 
the past reveals to us that discovery after discovery, 
invention after invention, has come to aid the otherwise 
weak and helpless hand of man to perform its tasks; 
and every one of these inventions and discoveries has 
in some way been connected with the forces of nature 
as applied by man's intelligence and ingenuity. 

There are many marvelous wonders connected with 
our earth and the universe. The realms of nature, both 
in the microscopic and telescopic zones, are fraught 
with the indefinable and incomprehensible. The stars 
in space are wonderful ; the beings at our side are more 
wonderful, because the greatest star is at the eye-piece 
of the telescope. Of all the wonderful things which God 
made, man, the wonderer, is himself the most wonder- 
ful; therefore, the proper study of mankind is man, 
for it is he who, by learning the movements of the 
heavenly bodies, incites our wonder and lifts us still 
higher in the scale of being. We are told that the 
mind of Newton, who discovered the law of universal 
gravitation and showed us how the moon is ever fall- 
ing toward the earth, is a nobler force and a higher 
creation than a universe of universes of unthinking 
matter. 

From these observations, we feel more and more in- 
clined to agree with the greatest of all poets in his 
estimation of man, when he says : 

"What a piece of work is man! 

How noble in reason; how infinite in faculty! 

In form and moving, how express and admirable! 

In action, how like an angel; in apprehension, how like a 

god! 
The beauty of the world; the paragon of animals!" 

96 



THE FAMILY CELESTIAL 

Man's duty is to obey the laws of nature and of 
God; to make all races fraternal by losing all creeds 
in the gospel; to follow the paths of usefulness, truth 
and duty, which alone can lead him back to the great 
Source from whence he came. 

Man may be a creature standing alone in infinity; 
but the better view is that there are forms of life of 
every conceivable gradation. As to the habitability 
of other worlds and the enlightenment and intelligence 
of their creation, the enshrouded mystery is best set 
forth by Tennyson : 

"This truth within thy mind rehearse, 

That in a boundless universe 

Is boundless better, boundless worse. 

"Think you this mould of hopes and fears 
Could have no statelier than his peers 
In yonder hundred million spheres?" 



97 



MARS, THE RUDDY PLANET. 

Mars! In thy ruddy color, thou dost resemble 
The war-god, from whom thou dost take thy name ; but 

Let war be no more ; upon the earth smile in peace — 
Let her rest secure in the light of thy benignant smile. 

Next after the earth with respect to distance from 
the sun comes Mars, the ruddy planet, so called on 
account of his brilliant red color. With the exception 
of the moon, we are more familiar with the configura- 
tions of the surface of Mars than we are with the 
markings of any other planet. Mars, unlike Venus, 
seems to have a rare or thin atmosphere, in conse- 
quence of which a closer telescopic examination may 
be accorded his surface. 

The most appropriate time to study any celestial 
body, located like Mars, is during its period of opposi- 
tion, that is, when it makes its nearest approach to our 
planet. When the earth intervenes directly between 
the globe and the sun, this is called the opposition of 
the planet. In the case of Mars, his distance is then 
less than at any other time, and at night he is located 
high in the heavens, a state of affairs which enables 
the astronomers to scrutinize him very closely, since 
the sun is then on the opposite side of the earth. 

Those oppositions which occur near the 26th of 
August are favorable, and those which occur near the 
22d of February are unfavorable; for, since the orbit 
of Mars is more eccentric than that of the earth, at 

98 



THE FAMILY CELESTIAL 

the former date the distance between the two planets 
is only a little more than one-half of what it is at the 
latter. A very favorable opposition occurred in 1877, 
another in 1909, while the next will occur in 1924, from 




Op/>os/t/oas of /877 

which we see that they occur at irregular intervals. 
At a favorable opposition, Mars may approach within 
35,500,000 miles of the earth. This close approach of 
the planet presents a favorable opportunity for obtain- 
ing his distance and also that of the sun, thus solving 
the same problem to which the transit of Venus of- 
fered a solution. From the law of gravitation, which 
causes planetary perturbations, another method of 
measuring the sun's distance is obtained. 

Since Mars requires 687 days to complete one revo- 
lution around the sun, his seasons must be almost the 

99 



THE FAMILY CELESTIAL 

double of ours. He is so much more distant from 
the sun than is the earth that the heat and light in- 
tercepted by him must be far less than that which 
the earth enjoys. This, of course, has its influence on 
the inhabitants of the planet, of whom we are entirely 
ignorant, although the opinion of astronomers is that 
much higher forms of life in the intellectual scale exist 
on Mars than exist on the earth. Some have gone so 
far as to present drawings of the Martians, showing 
them as large bird-like forms. With each improve- 
ment and enlargement of the telescope, we shall learn 
more and more about our planetary neighbors. If 
Mars were as near as the moon, we might scrutinize 
every recess of his surface ; but, since he is when near- 
est almost one hundred and forty times as far as our 
satellite, we are not able as yet to give him very close 
study. 

The astronomers have divided the variegated sur- 
face of Mars into continents and oceans. Professor 
Schiaparelli, in 1877, discovered a number of long, 
narrow lines leading across the so-called continents, 
and to these he gave the name of "canals." There was 
a network of these canals, which seemed to connect the 
several oceans with one another. The astronomical 
world was greatly surprised at this; but, when Schia- 
parelli announced in 1882 that most of the canals had 
become double, the astonishment was greater still. 
During an interval extending from December, 1881, 
to February, 1882, thirty duplications seem to have oc- 
curred, nineteen of which followed, in well-defined 
parallel lines, canals previously existing. The others 
were not quite parallel, or were not as perceptibly 
marked. This singular phenomenon of the duplication 

100 




(VIII., p. 101.) 



Mars. 



THE FAMILY CELESTIAL 

of the canals seems to be of a periodic nature, occur- 
ring at the time when the planet is passing through 
his equinoxes. Although we are told that the polar 
fields, which present the white polar cap, are at the 
summer season seeking outlets for the melting sub- 
stance which composes them, yet no explanation of the 
duplication of the canals has been accepted. For the 
present, we shall have to remain content without a 
solution of the enigma, believing, however, that a 
sufficient explanation will presently be advanced. 

We have spoken of the "continents" and "oceans'' 
of Mars, yet it is seriously doubted by some whether 
water exists on the planet at all. If water in the form 
of large oceans existed there, then the sun would be 
reflected from its glassy surface, and we might ob- 
serve him as a point of brilliant beauty coruscating 
from the planet. 

Mars is similar to the earth in some particulars, al- 
though he is much smaller, which causes the intensity 
of gravitation to be much less there than on our planet. 
One hundred pounds on the earth would weigh rather 
less than fifty pounds on Mars. But the period of his 
axial rotation is but little more than half an hour 
greater than that of the earth, being 24 hours, 37 min- 
utes, 22^4 seconds. Since he rotates on his axis in 
a period of time less than his year, we may feel sure 
that he must possess a satellite. Mercury and Venus, 
having no satellite to produce tides and cause diurnal 
rotations, present the same face to the sun all the 
time, and thus the length of their year and day are 

101 



THE FAMILY CELESTIAL 

identical. But this is not the case with Mars; there- 
fore, he must have an attendant. For years the as- 
tronomers sought diligently to discover the Martian 
satellite, but all to no purpose. Finally, Professor 
Asaph Hall, furnished with a telescope of colossal 
proportions and exquisite workmanship, decided to 
make another effort to discover an attendant to Mars. 
Professor Hall knew that, were the satellite the one- 
hundredth part of the moon, it would have been dis- 
covered long before this time; therefore, he prepared 
for a very diligent search. Victory doubly crowned his 
efforts, for he discovered two satellites, one of which, 
Deimos, revolves around the planet in 30 hours, 17 
minutes, 54 seconds; while the other, Phobos, com- 
pletes one revolution in the exceedingly brief period of 
7 hours, 39 minutes, 14 seconds. Deimos completes a 
revolution in about one and a quarter days ; but Phobos 
revolves around the planet three times while he is mak- 
ing one axial rotation, which fact is unparalleled in the 
solar system, and probably in the universe. Our earth 
rotates twenty-seven times while the moon makes one 
revolution; while Jupiter and Saturn rotate several 
times on their axes while their satellites are complet- 
ing one revolution. The sun himself rotates several 
times while even the nearest planet, Mercury, is com- 
pleting the circuit of his orbit. No other known case 
exists where the satellite revolves in less time than the 
primary rotates. Another singular occurrence with re- 
spect to this inner satellite is the fact that he moves 
around his primary in an opposite direction to the 
habit of celestial bodies, rising in the west and setting 
in the east. 
When Professor Hall had made his remarkable dis- 
102 



THE FAMILY CELESTIAL 

covery, he consulted his literary friends as to the names 
which the satellites should bear. The Iliad of the great 
Greek poet, Homer, suggested the names for the newly 
discovered Martian moons. In ancient mythology 
Deimos and Phobos were the attendants of the god of 
war; and in this later day, when the satellites of Mars 
were discovered, they were given the same names that 
characterized his attendants in the far off time of the 
mythological past. Our moon is nearly a quarter of 
a million miles from the earth; but the satellites of 
Mars are close to their primary, Phobos being less than 
4,000, and Deimos less than 13,000 miles above the sur- 
face of the planet. These are very small bodies, with 
diameters of twenty-five or thirty miles. But there 
are many more small globes in the great solar system ; 
not necessarily satellites, however, but minor planets. 
There is a wide area of celestial territory lying be- 
tween the orbit of Mars and that of Jupiter. For a 
long time it was thought that this space was occupied 
by some planet, the discovery of which had not yet 
been made. After the enunciation of Bode's law, which 
shows that the planets are relatively located according 
to a certain series, more attention was directed to the 
search of some tenant for the occupancy of this great 
space. In the series o, 3, 6, 12, 24, 48, 96, each number 
except the second is the double of the number preced- 
ing. If now we add four to each, we have the series 4, 
7, 10, 16, 28, 52, 100, by which the planetary members 
of our solar system are approximately stationed with 
reference to their distance from the center, or the sun. 
The real distances are: Mercury, 3.9; Venus, J.2', 
Earth, 10; Mars, 15.2; Jupiter, 52.9; Saturn, 95.4. But 
as yet no known planet occupied the orbital position 

103 



THE FAMILY CELESTIAL 

represented by 28, the fifth number in the series ; and 
so, about the close of the eighteenth century, the as- 
tronomers began to search more diligently for the 
surmised little planet. 

In the first week of the wonderful nineteenth century 
the astronomer Piazzi discovered the first of the minor 
planets, and a little later the celebrated German mathe- 
matician, Gauss, began his memorable career by trac- 
ing the planet's orbit through the heavens. Piazzi ob- 
served the little planet, afterwards called Ceres, on 
several consecutive nights and indicated her position, 
from which, having as many as three positions clearly 
defined, the mathematician was able to compute her 
orbit and point out where she would be at any time 
in the future. Although the season soon passed and 
she could be seen no longer in those parts of the 
heavens, yet Gauss told the astronomers where they 
might observe her at a given time gliding among the 
stars; and, when they turned their telescopes to that 
part of the sky indicated by the mathematician, there 
was the little planet wandering through a different con- 
stellation. Since that time Ceres has been followed so 
closely by mathematical accuracy that her place in the 
system for every night in the year, whether she may 
be seen or not, may be correctly indicated. 

The discovery of Ceres was within a few years fol- 
lowed by that of Pallas, Juno and Vesta. The orbits 
of these little bodies lie between those of Mars and 
Jupiter, thus utilizing the vast area between these two 
major members of the solar system. Many more have 
from time to time been added to the list of minor planets 
until now they number between six and seven hundred. 

In the search for new planets, a certain section of 
104 



THE FAMILY CELESTIAL 

the heavens was observed for several nights together 
and the position of the stars indicated ; after this their 
places on the several nights were compared, and, if the 
position of any one varied, it was a planet, or wanderer. 
But a more significant method is now used. A photo- 
graphic plate is exposed to a certain section of the 
heavens, and upon this the stars imprint their images. 
To the camera is adjusted some very delicate machin- 
ery, by which the instrument is made to keep accurate 
pace with the rotation of the earth, so that every hxed 
star may imprint its image as a sharp, well-defined 
point on the photographic plate. The planets, how- 
ever, if any happened to be traversing that part of the 
sky when the exposure was made, indicate the fact by 
a streak on the plate, which manifests itself on de- 
veloping the film. 

For aught we know, the physical structure and com- 
position of the asteroids may be the same as that of 
the earth or of the other planets. They may be min- 
iature worlds, with their surface subdivided as that of 
the earth. But even though everything necessary to 
human existence were to be found on these little 
worlds, still they would not be fit abodes for such be- 
ings as we are. The force of gravitation would be re- 
duced to such a degree that highly organized beings 
would find it impossible to reside on these minor globes. 

Although Ceres and some of the others first dis- 
covered are larger, yet we may readily illustrate this 
fact by employing a globe one hundred miles in diam- 
eter, which would be one-eightieth of the diameter of 
the earth. If the materials of the asteroid were of the 
same nature as those of our planet, the force of gravity 
on the surface of the miniature globe would be only 

105 



THE FAMILY CELESTIAL 

one-eightieth of what it is on the earth. One ton on 
the earth would weigh only twenty-five pounds if trans- 
ferred to the asteroid. A man there could lift eight 
tons with the same exertion that he uses to handle two 
hundred pounds on the earth. This difference in grav- 
ity would occasion a stupendous change. But suppose 
that we try the experiment on a globe just eight miles 
in diameter, which is only the one-thousandth part of 
that of our planet. The force of gravity would be only 
the one-thousandth part of the terrestrial force. An 
object weighing one thousand pounds on the earth 
would weigh only a pound if transferred to the little 
globe. A man could lift one hundred tons on the 
asteroid with the same exertion that he puts forth to 
raise two hundred pounds on the earth. 

As we have previously intimated in several instances, 
it would be utterly impossible for life, such as we know 
it, to exist on the satellites and minor planets on ac- 
count of the absence of an atmosphere. It is the 
action of the air, the wind and the rain, the frost and 
the snow, which causes the elevated portions of our 
earth to be constantly worn down, with the sea-level 
as a limit ; but, since the moon has no atmosphere, we 
may observe her mountains for countless ages without 
the detection of any change, because there none of 
these elements is at work, and the entire body is as 
silent as the tomb. The crags and mountain peaks 
are sharply defined, attaining a ruggedness seldom 
found on the earth. And, although we cannot see the 
ruggedness and sharpness of land forms, if land exists, 
on the minor planets, yet we believe that no atmosphere 
is present there and that they are as silent and life- 
less as our satellite. 

106 



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To give an explanation of the absence of an atmos- 
phere from the satellites and minor planets, we must 
consider the molecular velocities of certain gases with 
which we are familiar on the earth. Modern research 
has discovered that a gas is composed of an immense 
number of molecules, each of which is in exceedingly 
rapid motion. But this motion is pursued for only a 
short distance in one direction before the molecule 
comes into collision with another molecule, which fact 
within itself causes the directions and velocities of the 
individual molecules to be ever and continuously 
changing. Each gas has a certain average molecular 
velocity which is common to the molecules of that gas 
at a given temperature, and, when several gases are 
mixed, as nitrogen and oxygen are in our atmosphere, 
the molecules of each continue to preserve their char- 
acteristic velocities. It is estimated that near the 
earth's surface the average velocity of nitrogen and 
oxygen molecules is about a quarter of a mile per sec- 
ond; while that of hydrogen molecules is a mile or 
more per second, being the greatest molecular velocity 
of any known gas. 

From our knowledge of the law of universal grav- 
itation, we have become familiar with the fact that 
the greater the mass of any body the more gravitational 
force does that body possess, and the "critical velocity" 
or initial speed of any projectile hurled from a large 
globe never to return must be greater than that of a 
small one. The initial velocity of the earth is about 
seven miles per second; that of Mercury three miles 
per second, of Mars three and a half, of Saturn twenty- 
two, and of Jupiter thirty-seven ; while that of the sun 
is so great that, if a projectile be hurled from his sur- 

107 



THE FAMILY CELESTIAL 

face never to return, it must leave the great globe with 
an initial speed of 391 miles per second. And thus 
we explain why free hydrogen exists on the sun and 
why it does not exist on the earth. The velocity of 
this gas at the earth's surface, we have said, is about 
a mile per second; but by a combination of circum- 
stances it might happen that the molecules of this ga? 
would soar above the earth and not infrequently attair 
a velocity of seven miles per second, which would pro- 
ject them away never to return. But the gravitational 
force of the sun is so great and requires such a high 
initial velocity, that even the hydrogen molecules with 
all of their speed can never attain it and can never 
escape. The molecular velocities of the other gases 
on the earth are so low that they cannot possibly 
escape; and thus are found nitrogen, oxygen, water 
vapor, and carbon dioxide forming component parts of 
our atmosphere. 

This course of reasoning applied to the moon and 
minor planets will reveal to us why no gases remain on 
them to form an atmosphere. The critical velocity of 
the moon is about a mile and a half per second, which 
is within the maximum velocities attainable by the 
molecules of nitrogen, oxygen, and other terrestrial 
gases. Thus these gases, if they ever existed on the 
moon, have in the course of time escaped and left her 
without the possibility of life as we know it on the 
earth. Since the minor planets are far inferior to the 
moon, their gravitational force is so slight as to allow 
the escape of those gases which might contribute to 
the formation of an atmosphere. On an asteroid of 
only a few miles diameter even a child might toss a 
ball with sufficient velocity for it never to return. The 

108 



THE FAMILY CELESTIAL 

critical velocity of any planet is proportional to its 
diameter ; therefore, the critical velocity of an asteroid 
eight miles in diameter, which is about the thousandth 
part of the earth's diameter, would be the thousandth 
part of seven miles per second — a little over thirty feet. 
From this it is readily perceived that small bodies are 
not capable of retaining gases which might serve as an 
atmosphere or blanket to shield them from outside dis- 
turbances or influences. 

A world of philosophy lies in each of these small 
bodies; and, although our greatest attention is given 
the larger globes of the solar system, yet these infant 
worlds are as truly the product of the Creator's handi- 
work as the mightiest globe in the universe of God. 
Even small things command our attention and direct 
us to the Giver of all life and the Source of all power. 



109 



JUPITER, THE GIANT PLANET OF 
THE SOLAR SYSTEM. 

These are Thine orbs of light and shade; 

Thou madest Life in man and brute; 

Thou madest Death, and lo Thy foot 
Is on the skull which Thou hast made. 

In a survey of the solar system, if we were to pro- 
ceed according to the size of its members, we should, 
of course, find Jupiter coming next after the sun him- 
self, since he is the largest planet in attendance upon 
our great luminary. The ancients called their chief 
deity Jupiter, and it so happened that they also con- 
ferred upon the greatest of the planets the name of 
their most powerful and most important god. Jupiter 
may be considered the planetary king of the solar sys- 
tem. He is of such majestic proportions that, if Sa- 
turn, the next largest planet, were augmented by all 
the other members of the solar system, the mass of 
this great globe would not equal that of Jupiter. Truly 
he is a wonderful globe, fitted by his supreme command 
to hold sway over the lesser lights of our system. 

Beginning with Jupiter, a great descent in the scale 
of magnitude must be made before Saturn is reached, 
and another downward step must be taken before 

110 




1. Jupiter. 

2. Saturn. 



(II., p. 110.) 



THE FAMILY CELESTIAL 

Uranus and Neptune are approached ; while the lesser 
planets, to which group our earth belongs, are so small 
that they may be considered as the infants of the great 
sun-family. 

Jupiter's mean distance from the sun is about 483,- 
000,000 miles, or a little more than five times the 
earth's distance from the luminary. The ellipticity of 
his orbit is very appreciable. Jupiter, like the other 
planets more distant, illustrates the law that the farther 
a planet is from the sun the slower is its orbital veloc- 
ity. The earth, as we have before seen, passes over 
eighteen miles per second as she journeys around the 
sun on her orbit, while Jupiter traverses only about 
eight miles per second. The outer planet has a longer 
journey to accomplish than has the earth, and he 
covers this at a much reduced rate of speed ; therefore, 
for this two-fold reason, a longer journey and slower 
velocity, Jupiter requires nearly twelve of our years to 
complete one orbital revolution around his primary. 

The mean diameter of Jupiter is nearly 87,000 miles. 
A very conspicuous difference exists between his 
equatorial and polar diameters, caused by the rapidity 
of his axial rotation; for, although Jupiter is about 
1,300 times the size of the earth, he rotates on his axis 
in less than half of the earth's period of rotation, in 
fact, completing one. rotation in 9 hours and 55 min- 
utes. The rapidity of this rotation causes him to bulge 
at the equator, which makes the equatorial diameter 
considerably greater than the polar. A clear concep- 
tion of this swift axial rotation may be obtained by 
comparing the velocity of a body on Jupiter's equator 
with the velocity of a body situated at the equator of 
the earth. A body at the earth's equator moves a little 

111 



THE FAMILY CELESTIAL 

more than a thousand miles per hour, while on Jupiter 
the body would travel almost twenty-seven times as 
fast, which fact accounts for the marked ellipticity of 
the giant planet ; for the rapid rotation develops a great 
centrifugal force which bulges out his pliant form. 

From measurement we are informed that it would 
take 1,300 globes the size of our earth to equal the vol- 
ume of Jupiter ; but from the laws of universal gravi- 
tation, which reveal the mass of a celestial body, is 
deduced the fact that Jupiter weighs only 316 times as 
much as the earth. As a result of this reasoning, it 
must be concluded that the materials of which Jupiter 
is composed are less compact than those forming the 
earth. In fact, it seems that he must be in a state of 
"diffused expansibility," through which the earth 
passed countless ages ago. He is composed of nebu- 
lous matter not yet condensed into as compact a body 
as the earth and some of the other planets. Clouds 
always shield the surface of Jupiter from a close tele- 
scopic scrutiny, so that he cannot be accurately viewed 
by the astronomers ; but, notwithstanding this, the ever- 
variable belts which appear on the giant planet are 
objects of beauty and interest. These are caused by 
the light of the sun, and suggest to us an idea of how 
the heat-belts of the earth might appear if we could 
observe them from the proper distance. 

Jupiter is attended by a beautiful retinue of satel- 
lites, and it is to them that we owe our knowledge of 
Jupiter's weight ; for from the observation of his moons 
we are able to measure his attractive power, and cal- 
culate as a result the mass of the mighty planet. Again, 
when a minor planet approaches near his orbit, it is 
attracted by the mass of Jupiter and made to swerve 

112 



THE FAMILY CELESTIAL 

from its path, from which the amount of deviation can 
be measured and Jupiter's mass calculated. Comets 
may dash into the solar system and approach Jupiter, 
who will cause them to deviate widely from their 
paths ; and, just as the perturbation of the planets gives 
us the opportunity of measuring Jupiter's mass, so do 
the deviations and disturbances of the comets present 
us with data for the same purpose. The results ob- 
tained from the satellites, planets, and comets are ap- 
proximately identical, from the coincidence of which 
we are assured as to the weight of Jupiter's mass. 

As large as Jupiter is when compared with the other 
planets, he dwindles into insignificance when con- 
trasted with the mighty mass of the sun. About 1,047 
Jupiters, all rolled into one great globe, would equal 
in weight the luminary of our system. Jupiter occu- 
pies a position with respect to heat and density inter- 
mediate between the sun and the earth. We account 
for the disparity between the size and mass of Jupiter 
and the same attributes of our earth by taking a retro- 
spective glance at the condition of the earth in the 
remote ages of the past. Then the earth was hot and 
glowing, and her materials widely diffused — a condi- 
tion analogous to the present one of Jupiter; but as 
she cooled her materials contracted and became more 
and more compact until she evolved into a place fit 
for the habitation of highly organized beings. Her 
materials, widely diffused, occupied more space then 
than now, thus giving her larger size; but the weight 
of these materials with their high temperature was the 
same as it is at present. The water and possibly some 
of her other substances were transformed into vapor, 
and the atmosphere was charged with tremendous 

113 



THE FAMILY CELESTIAL 

clouds, thus greatly augmenting the size of our planet. 
Viewed from a distant point in space, the cloud-laden 
atmosphere would indicate the visible size of the earth, 
while her average density would accordingly appear to 
be far less than it is at present. Although Jupiter may 
not now be a fit habitation for life such as we know it, 
yet in the distant future he may be the home of teem- 
ing millions of beings blessed with all that can please 
and prosper the possessors of life. Considering his 
enormous size, though the cooling process will prob- 
ably reduce it to a certain extent, what glorious na- 
tions might exercise sway over his broad expanses of 
surface, and what races of beings might evolve from 
the dust of his plains ! Since he is so far from the 
sun, it would hardly seem probable that human life 
could exist there; but conditions in the wisdom of an 
overruling Providence may not be a barrier or a limit 
to life in some of its numberless forms. 

At present it would seem that great storms and tem- 
pests, cyclones and hurricanes, ever disturb the surface 
of Jupiter. These may be far more violent than the 
storms with which we are familiar on the earth. The 
solar heat intercepted by Jupiter must be small in- 
deed — hardly the twenty-fifth part of that received by 
the earth in proportion to surface; but the great in- 
ternal original heat of the planet may be the engender- 
ing cause of the violent disturbances which convulse 
the mighty globe. The sun himself is distracted by 
violent tempests as a result of his intense internal 
fervor. 

Jupiter and his satellites present a very striking and 
pleasing picture when they are observed through 
merely a common telescope. The little moons at first 

114 



THE FAMILY CELESTIAL 

glance resemble stars ; but soon it is observed that they 
are not stars, for they follow the great planet in his 
ceaseless wanderings through his entire circuit of the 
heavens. As he swings in his majestic orbit, the little 
attendants encircle him each with a different period 
of revolution. It must be singularly beautiful to see 
several moons in the sky at the same time, one follow- 
ing behind another with its allotted velocity and its 
proper distance from the planet. Since the nearer 
satellites have a shorter journey to pursue, they over- 
take the outer moons and pass them in the sky, which 
action is doubtless very beautiful to behold. It would 
be wonderful to see several moons gliding by one an- 
other in their journeying about the planet. 

Viewed from the earth, the eclipses and occultations 
of Jupiter's satellites are very striking phenomena. 
The transit of a satellite across the disc of the planet 
is beautiful, not so much from the passage of the moon 
since it may be scarcely seen on account of the bril- 
liancy of the planet, but on account of the dark shadow 
which it casts upon Jupiter's face. Some of these 
satellites are larger than our moon, but, on account 
of their great distance, it is difficult to perceive any 
markings on their surfaces, although it is believed that 
they, like our satellite, always turn the same face to 
their primary. 

We speak frequently of the marvelous velocity of 
light, and say that it travels at the rate of 186,000 
miles per second. Even at this tremendous rate, it 
takes a considerable interval to reach us from the sun 
and distant planets. It was formerly believed that the 
passage of light over any distance was instantaneous, 
but, from an observation of the eclipses of Jupiter's 

115 



THE FAMILY CELESTIAL 

satellites, it has been determined that light travels at 
the enormous rate of speed above mentioned — 186,000 
miles per second. How do the eclipses of Jupiter's 
moons aid us in calculating the velocity of light? 

These eclipses had been observed for many years, 
and it was found that certain order reigned among 
them just as we perceive throughout the phenomena 
of the entire universe. From these observations the 
astronomers predicted the recurrence of the eclipses, 
but their calculations would vary from the exact time 
of the occurrence, the eclipses taking place five or ten 
minutes before the computed time or five or ten min- 
utes after it. At first the astronomers were bewildered 
to know what caused the error in their calculations; 
but really there was no error, but the difference in 
time of the eclipses resulted from the fact that at one 
period Jupiter was nearer the earth than at another; 
and during the period of his opposition the eclipses 
would occur a few minutes before the predicted time, 
and when he was farthest from the earth they would 
occur after the predicted time. This remarkable fact 
led the Danish astronomer, Roemer, to the conclusion 
that light requires time to make its passage over any 
given distance. As the satellite entered the planet's 
shadow, the last rays of light were those which gave 
the astronomers knowledge of the occurrence by en- 
tering the telescope and impressing the picture upon 
their minds. It requires some time for the long stream 
of light which left the satellite when it entered the 
planet's shadow to reach the astronomer, which fact 
led to the discovery of the velocity of light. Thus, 
when the earth was comparatively near to Jupiter, the 
light had a shorter distance to travel, and the eclipse 

116 



THE FAMILY CELESTIAL 

would occur sooner by a few minutes than the time 
predicted ; but, when the planets were at their greatest 
distance apart, it would occur later than predicted. 
From these facts the velocity of light was computed 
and the variableness in the eclipses explained. 

The velocity of light has also been computed from 
the use of a very delicate instrument which flashes the 
light of a lantern through a narrow slit to some re- 
flector in the distance, while a wheel with spokes is so 
arranged as to turn the spokes and intercept the rays ; 
from which, knowing the rate at which the wheel is 
turning, the velocity of light is calculated. The result 
obtained by mechanical means is approximately the 
same as that which the eclipses of Jupiter's satellites 
afford. It is very interesting to note the noble uses 
to which discrepancies may often be put. The failure 
of the eclipse to occur at the time predicted led to the 
discovery of the velocity of light, which is a great addi- 
tion to the quota of astronomical science. 

Jupiter and his satellites illustrate to us on a minia- 
ture scale the conception of the solar system. Typical 
of the sun, he is the center of the system, while his 
moons are identical with the planets which cease- 
lessly swing around their primary. It was formerly 
believed that the earth was the center of space and 
that all the celestial bodies revolved around her as the 
"hub" of- the universe ; but, when the newly invented 
telescope was turned upon Jupiter and his moons, this 
narrow idea was cast aside and the Copernican theory 
of the universe given full recognition everywhere. 
Some so-called philosophers believed that Aristotle, 
the eminent Greek scholar, had sketched properly every 
topic pertaining to the material universe ; and some of 

117 



THE FAMILY CELESTIAL 

them went so far as to deny the existence of satel- 
lites in attendance upon the planets. One of these men 
refused to look through the telescope, when invited to 
do so by Galileo, for fear that he should see and be 
compelled to believe; but, when he died, which oc- 
curred within a short time, Galileo said : "I hope that 
he will see the moons while on his way to heaven." 
And, following the thought of Galileo, we are im- 
pressed with the great fact that in the spirit land we 
shall survey the universe and comprehend the glory of 
the heavens. 



118 




Saturn. 



SATURN, THE PLANET WITH THE RINGS. 

Lord of life, beneath the dome 

Of the universe, Thy home, 
Gather us, who seek Thy face, 

To the fold of Thine embrace, 
For Thou art nigh. 

Saturn formed the boundary of the solar system so 
far as the knowledge of the ancient world was able 
to judge, for he formed the fifth and last planet in 
the estimation of primitive astronomers. He is the 
second planet in size in the solor system, and is a mar- 
vel of beauty and interest on account of the wonderful 
system of rings which surround him. To the unaided 
vision he appears to be about as brilliant as a star 
of the first magnitude. He might have been mistaken 
for a star, were it not for the fact that he changes 
his position with reference to the other heavenly bodies, 
which caused him to be placed in the category of 
orbs which have no fixed abode in the skies, but 
wander about the circuit of the heavens. 

Saturn is stationed at a profound distance in space, 
being on the average about 886,000,000 miles from the 
sun ; it takes him twenty-nine and one-half of our years 
to complete the stupendous journey around that body. 
Being still more distant from the sun than Jupiter, 
he moves more slowly along his orbit, his average rate 

119 



THE FAMILY CELESTIAL 

being nearly six miles per second. His orbit is a very 
appreciable ellipse, on account of which, from one of 
Kepler's laws concerning the theory of gravitation, he 
varies in his velocity as he swings around the sun. 

Saturn is a very large planet, having a mean diam- 
eter of 71,000 miles. His ellipticity, like that of Jupi- 
ter, is very marked as a result of his high rate of 
axial rotation, for he completes an. entire rotation in 
10 hours and 14 minutes. His density or specific grav- 
ity is less than that of any of the other planets, being 
even less than water itself, upon the bosom of which, 
if an ocean large enough to sustain the planet existed, 
he would float with one-fourth of his mass above the 
surface. From these facts it would seem that Saturn 
is in even more of a nebulous state than Jupiter, and 
that he has retained more of his original heat; but 
from the law of cooling is evolved the truth that the 
smaller the body the more rapidly does it cool and im- 
part its heat. In the case under review, modern science 
has not been able to reconcile the discrepancy, and 
so the problem must remain unsolved for the time 
being. Yet, notwithstanding the porosity of Saturn, 
he weighs more than ninety-five times as much as the 
globe upon which we dwell, and 3,500 globes each 
as large as Saturn would weigh as much as the sun. 

With the unaided vision it is impossible for a ter- 
restrial observer to see the beautiful system of rings 
by which Saturn is surrounded. When Galileo with 
his newly invented telescope, which was of low mag- 
nifying power, began to scrutinize the heavens, he was 
impressed with the singular beauty of the spots on the 

120 



THE FAMILY CELESTIAL 

sun, the mountains on the moon, the crescent of 
Venus, the satellites of Jupiter, and the many other 
interesting bodies which bedeck the sky; but, when 
he centered his attention upon Saturn, he was amazed 
at the appearance which the planet presented. At this 
time there appeared to be three bodies near together 
touching one another, with the largest between the 
other two. Galileo was naturally puzzled at this, and 
knew not how to explain it; but, when, after observ- 
ing the interesting bodies for a time, the two ap- 
pendages disappeared and left by itself the globular 
disc, he was more confounded still. He thought prob- 
ably that the phenomenon was a delusion and that 
Saturn after all was simply like the other planets. 
But in the course of time the appendages, which Galileo 
had described as globes, began to reappear, and then 
it was that their true nature was discolsed. 

Nearly a half century later Huyghens proposed a 
solution for the problem, and showed that instead of 
being globes they were crescents with the concave side 
turned toward the planet, and that, when they disap- 
peared, they were but turned edgewise to the earth, 
which prevented the astronomers from seeing them at 
all. Soon they began to reappear, and gained their larg- 
est proportions, apparently speaking, during an interval 
of seven or eight years, at the end of which time they 
were again edgewise to the earth. It takes them 
about fifteen years, or half of Saturn's period of revo- 
lution, to go through the changing cycles of their move- 
ment. When Saturn is in the proper position for his 
appendages to be seen best, they produce a beautiful 
ring surrounding the planet, and not the globular ap- 
pearance which they presented at the time when they 

121 



THE FAMILY CELESTIAL 

were first seen by Galileo. Huyghens demonstrated 
that the ring rotates around the globe. 

Modern research has shown that a dark line, sup- 
posed to be an aperture, separates the ring into sec- 
tions, or rather into independent rings. The inner of 
these is again subdivided by a faint line, and the ring 
nearest the planet is so thin and fragile as to be 
called the "crape" ring. A faint line marks the outer 
ring also, from which we see that there are appar- 
ently four divisions of the ring-like structure. The 
astronomers have not, as yet, been able to show exactly 
how the rings rotate, whether in sections or in one 
solid division. 

The law of gravitation, pervading every part of the 
universe, is the source to which we look for an ex- 
planation of many otherwise inexplicable phenomena 
which are presented to us in the study of astronomy. 
The prevalence of this great law is demonstrated by 
Saturn, as it is by every body in the universe, as 
he guides and controls the beautiful system of satel- 
lites by which he is encircled. His system of rings 
are under the same influence and are held in their 
proper place by the gravitational force of the great 
planet. If these rings were composed of the stoutest 
steel, they would be crushed to the surface of the 
planet; for, if we imagine ourselves standing on 
Saturn, the rings would form a magnificant arch with 
a span of upwards of one hundred thousand miles 
stretching above us and down to the horizon on either 
side; and this would be far too long, considering the 
attractive force of so large a planet, to sustain itself 
for even a moment, regardless of the strength of the 
materials forming it. 

122 



THE FAMILY CELESTIAL 

The idea of solid rings must at once be pushed aside 
for something more feasible. If we suppose that the 
rings were made of water vapor, as are the clouds on 
the earth, which, though composed of millions of little 
drops so closely placed as to present *a continuous ap- 
pearance at a short distance, float above the surface, 
nevertheless this theory must be abandoned for a 
more plausible one, because a wave-like motion would 
develop and destroy the equilibrium of their movement 
and lead to a disruption of the rings themselves. 

Probably the only possible way for us to reconcile 
this singular phenomenon to our minds is to assume 
that the rings are composed of a multitude of little 
bodies like the sands of the sea, floating in a shoal 
around the great globe, each following its own well 
defined orbit, the whole comprising and presenting a 
continuous stratum encircling the planet. This beauti- 
ful shoal swings around the mighty globe, each little 
member following its allotted path with the utmost 
precision, guided ever by the influence of the powerful 
planet in the center. Since all of these minute bodies 
are assumed to be satellites, it is possible for us to 
compute the time required for them to revolve around 
the planet, A satellite at the outer edge of the ring 
would require about 13J4 hours to complete the jour- 
ney; and one near the middle would complete the cir- 
cuit in about 10^ hours, while a satellite situated at 
the inner edge of the ring would accomplish its rota- 
tion in about 7^ hours. 

On a much grander scale we find in the solar system 
an analogous case to the curious phenomenon pre- 
sented by Saturn and his encircling rings. The sun is 
surrounded by a vast array of minor planets; and, if 

123 



THE FAMILY CELESTIAL 

these were greatly increased in number and their orbits 
all drawn into one plane, they would then present a 
ring-like appearance not wholly unlike that swinging 
around Saturn. This mighty planet with his rings and 
satellites presents a favorable impression as to the 
structure of the solar system itself; for the rings may 
be assumed to represent the vast shoal of minor 
planets, and the satellites to represent the larger 
planets in their revolution around the central body. 
However beautiful and fascinating this theory may be, 
we trust that future observation will reveal the true 
nature and character of the Saturnian system, and 
show whether or not the rings are of a permanent 
existence like that which attaches to the planets and 
satellites. 

In 1655, Huyghens, who discovered the true form 
of Saturn's rings, was examining the planet, when he 
perceived a small star-like object in attendance upon 
the great globe. This was the first discovered satel- 
lite of the Saturnian system. Huyghens abandoned 
the further search for satellites, because he was in 
some way led to believe that the number of secondary 
planets (satellites) should be the same as that of the 
primary planets. Including the earth, there were six 
planets, and there were now after Huyghen's discovery 
six satellites — one in attendance upon the earth, four 
revolving about Jupiter, and one following Saturn in 
his wanderings through the heavens. Thus the sys- 
tem was complete in the estimation of the astronomers 
of the time. But afterwards it was discovered that 
many more satellites owed allegiance to Saturn, and 
this caused the collapse of the theory upon which 
Huyghens relied, for it demonstrated the doctrine of 

124 



THE FAMILY CELESTIAL 

numerical equality between planets and satellites to 
be grossly absurd. So the number of satellites soon 
superseded that of the planets; but this did not hold 
true indefinitely, for, since the discovery of so many 
minor planets, the number of primaries is now greatly 
in excess of the number of secondaries. 

After a few years, the astronomer Cassini discovered 
four other satellites swinging about the great planet, 
and following him as he coursed his way through the 
boundless skies. The Saturnian system was now more 
complex than that of Jupiter, for up to this time only 
four of Jupiter's moons had been discovered, while 
Saturn was known to possess five. But toward the 
end of the following century (eighteenth), Herschel, 
having improved and enlarged the vision of the tele- 
scope, discovered still another satellite attending 
Saturn. At the moment when it was first seen, Her- 
schel was unable to distinguish it from a fixed star, 
but later observation informed him that the tiny point 
of light seen by him was really a little moon, for it 
followed Saturn through the heavens as he sped on his 
great orbit around the sun. Herschel, with that thor- 
oughness and ingenuity which characterized his every 
effort, in a short time discovered another tiny satel- 
lite situated so close to Saturn that it is obscured by 
the radiance of the rings for much of the time, and 
may be seen only during the brief intervals when it 
emerges from the wardship of these curious appen- 
dages. 

It was nearly a half century (1848) after the dis- 
covery of this seventh satellite when still another was 
discovered and added to the Saturnian system; but 
even this did not complete the number of Saturn's 

125 



THE FAMILY CELESTIAL 

children, for after the elapse of fifty years (1898) the 
ninth satellite was observed, while still another was 
added in the first half decade of the present century. 

Considering the number of Saturn's moons and the 
singular phenomena presented by his beautiful sys- 
tem of rings, he must be regarded as one of the most 
complex and intricate, and also interesting, bodies 
known to the astronomer. One is inspired with awe 
and reverence as he looks upon the grandeur of this 
mighty orb — a globe fit to be the boundary of the 
majestic solar system to which, in the infinity of 
worlds, we are assigned. Little did our progenitors of 
a few centuries ago dream that beyond this splendid 
planet, which they might have considered as the guar- 
dian of our system, lay two other majestic orbs, reflect- 
ing the beauty of the sun and guided ever by his 
wonderful and potent influence. 

The discovery of these two planets, Uranus and 
Neptune, marks one of the most momentous epochs in 
the whole history of astronomy, while the discovery of 
Neptune may be regarded as the greatest purely in- 
tellectual feat in the annals of human achievement. 
Such acquisitions to the pyramid of science cause it 
to lift its radiant summit toward the heavens and bask 
in the glorious sunlight of eternal truth which blazes 
from the center of Deity. 



126 



URANUS, HERSCHEL'S PLANET. 

In man's works space is eliminated, 

For it forms no barrier to his command; 
He sends his message with good cheer freighted, 

Receiving the touch of an unseen hand; 
The Antipodes respond to his call 

By saying that all on the earth is well; 
Man marks his touch with the terrestr'al ball, 

Yet far in the blue space his sight may dwell, 
While toward the celestial spheres his thought may swell. 

From time immemorial the inhabitants of the earth 
have been familiar with six of the planetary members 
of the solar system, including our globe. These were 
discovered so long ago in the remote ages of the 
past that no record of the event attaching to the 
finding of each planet has been preserved and trans- 
mitted to us. They were first noticed by those whose 
employment kept them out during the hours of the 
night. Under the clear sky in Asia or Egypt, the 
shepherds of the ancient world had ample opportunity 
to watch the panorama of the heavens. They took 
note of certain stars and observed that they were char- 
acterized by their fixity; while others were seen to 
change their places with reference to their neighbors. 
This latter class were denominated planets on ac- 
count of their wandering propensities, as they shifted 
from one part of the sky to another. But the an- 
cients, having no telescopes to aid them, failed to dis- 

127 



THE FAMILY CELESTIAL 

cover all the members of our great and interesting 
solar family; and so it became the good fortune of 
the modern age to discover the outlying planets which, 
though far off in the infinity of space, owe and render 
allegiance to the sun. 

The discovery of Uranus marks an epoch in the 
science of astronomy, not solely from the fact that 
a new member was added to the system, but because 
it secured for the world the unrivalled services and 
efforts of a philosophical genius, with the name of 
whom many of the most profound discoveries and 
speculations in the realm of thought are connected. 
Apropos this statement, it is but proper that we insert 
a short biography of the life of Sir William Herschel ; 
for, although he has been mentioned before in connec- 
tion with different phases of the science, nevertheless 
the story of his life should be given in relating the 
history of Uranus, for his discovery of this great 
planet was a most prominent landmark in astronomy. 

It is remarkable that so many of our greatest and 
best men spring from the lowest ranks of the people. 
Most of the mightiest thinkers and philosophers of all 
time date their birth to some humble home wmere they 
were trained in integrity, honor, and honesty. All 
praise to that home which, in addition to these virtues, 
inculcates in the minds of its inmates an insatiable 
desire for knowledge and philosophic truth. No higher 
ambition can inspire the mind of any man than the 
desire to bequeath to humanity some glorious discovery 
which will tend to elevate the race in the scale of 
being and of thought and action. 

About six years after the birth of Washington, the 
patriot-hero and father of a new nation, William Her- 

128 



THE FAMILY CELESTIAL 

schel, he who added a new world to our system, first 
saw the light. He was born in Hanover, Germany. 
His father, an humble but accomplished musician, had 
a family of ten children, William being the fourth. 
This family, living their quiet and unassuming life, dis- 
cussed together many subjects relating to music and 
philosophy, and every member of whom any record is 
kept showed his aptitude for music and his love for 
scientific truth. But none of them in later years rose 
to sublime heights but William, unless we except the 
little sister Caroline, who evinced her love for the true 
and the beautiful and became illustrious. William soon 
mastered all that his little school was able to give him, 
practicing music in the meantime, and at the age of 
fourteen or fifteen became so proficient in the art 
"common alike to angels and to men" that he was 
employed in the Court orchestra and also in the band 
of the Hanoverian Guards. Soon a wave of war swept 
the land. The French invasion and the skirmishes in 
which William was engaged became so distasteful to 
him that he decided to desert and seek his fortunes 
elsewhere. This act of desertion cast the one dark 
spot on his character; and it is said that twenty years 
after this, when he appeared before King George 111 
to demonstrate an astronomical discovery, the King 
said that there was another matter which should be 
considered before a discussion might ensue, whereupon 
he handed to Herschel his pardon properly filled out 
and with the signature of authority. 

The young musician by dint of industry and perse- 
verence soon rose to a recognized station in the music 
realm in England, to which country he had gone and 
made his home. Before attaining the age of thirty, 

129 



THE FAMILY CELESTIAL 

Herschel was holding the position of chief organist in 
the Octagon Chapel at Bath, a city of gayety and 
pleasure. Here he was employed in giving lessons to 
his many pupils, and in arranging programmes for 
concerts and oratorios. But, even with all the happi- 
ness and pleasure which such work affords, his mind 
was still yearning for knowledge. His extra moments 
were employed in the study of higher mathematics that 
he might perfect himself in the more difficult and ab- 
struse parts of the theory of music; later he devoted 
himself to the study of optics, which led him to the 
telescope and to a knowledge of its wonderful at- 
tributes with respect to the comprehensive science of 
astronomy. 

The modest instrument through which Herschel 
obtained his first expanded view of the heavens was 
very small, but it gave him that feeling of awe and 
reverence which possesses one when first he contem- 
plates the infinite: the stars in all of their lustrous 
beauty and splendor burst upon his sight and for a 
while overwhelm him with their grandeur; he stands, 
an atom in the infinity of being, and beholds the beauty 
and glory of the worlds. And, as Herschel thus gazed, 
he saw blazing out before him in an ever-widening 
highway of fame the path which he should follow — 
the path of glory unspeakable toward which his 
genius directed him. In this line of endeavor he might 
do something which would elevate the race and point 
it to a splendor that should dazzle and illumine the 
world. Soon he should abandon his concerts and ora- 
torios, his pupils and pleasant associations, and com- 
mence the construction of telescopes and the grinding 
of specula and polishing of lenses. From his profes- 

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THE FAMILY CELESTIAL 

sional work as instructor in music he would return to 
his home and labor for hours on his telescope, which, 
fortunately for the development of the science of as- 
tronomy, he was compelled to construct, because he 
did not feel disposed to purchase an instrument at the 
prices quoted by the London dealers. 

His renown as a laborious musician was soon to be 
eclipsed by his fame in the construction of telescopes 
and discoveries in the science of astronomy. When it 
became known that these discoveries were effected by 
means of instruments of his own construction, a de- 
mand for his telescopes arose, from the sale of which 
he realized some tangible results. He constructed in 
all between seventy and eighty large telescopes, and 
many small ones. This work in itself was of mo- 
mentous consequence to the development of science. 
Herschel, in being his own instrument maker, enjoyed 
a great advantage, for he was thus able to see where 
improvements in the lenses or in their adjustment 
might be made. Everything was studied from the 
scientific point of view, with the object of adding any 
and every improvement possible and thus increasing 
the efficiency of the instrument. 

After seven years' practical experience in astronomy, 
Herschel began a methodical observation of the 
heavens with a telescope of fine workmanship, which 
he had recently completed. We are ignorant of the 
motive which prompted him to examine all the stars 
above a certain degree of brightness. One star after 
another was brought into the field of vision and ex- 
amined; all of these simply showed themselves as 
points of brilliant light, but not with a recognizable 
disc. As this task progressed, while examining the 

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hosts of stars in the constellation of the Twins, Her- 
schel was struck with the appearance in his reflector 
of a star which differed from all of those hitherto ex- 
amined. It presented not simply a point of light, but 
a disc, perfectly recognizable in shape and outline to 
the acute eye of the eminent astronomer. The star 
had been noted many times before, but the disc had 
never been perceived. The immediate recognition of 
the disc on the part of Herschel speaks an eloquent 
tribute to him as the ideal astronomer and observer. 

For several nights Herschel observed the strange 
body, thinking that it was probably a telescopic comet. 
Soon, however, mathematicians began to calculate the 
path that the weird body followed, with the result that 
it was shown to pursue a nearly circular path around 
the run. This path lay millions of miles beyond the 
orbit of Saturn, and the body which pursued it was a 
giant planet coursing around the sun in a period of 
eighty-four years. Thus was another mighty member 
added to the solar system. At first it was named Got- 
gium Sidus after George III., King of England, but 
later, following the custom of the ancients in bestow- 
ing upon the planets the names of their heathen deities, 
it was called Uranus. This was the first recorded in- 
stance of the discovery of a planet, for the others, as 
we have said, were discovered in prehistoric times, 
and hence no record of the event. 

Herschel now occupied the foremost position in the 
astronomical world. His name and fame were the 
theme of every tongue. The King listened with rapt 
attention as he explained the remarkable discovery, 
and the ladies of the Court gave him audience as he 
unfolded to them the marvelous wonders of astronomy 

132 



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and showed them the unique construction of his tele- 
scope. The King gave him a position at Windsor so 
that he might devote all of his time and wonderful 
talent to the development of the science of astronomy. 
Many of the most profound theories were propounded 
and explained by Herschel as he assiduously devoted 
himself to the study of the heavenly bodies. He 
stands with Kepler, Copernicus, and Newton in the 
development of this comprehensive science. 

Uranus, the massive planet discovered by Herschel, 
is about 31,700 miles in diameter, which is four times 
that of our earth. By cubing four, we find that Uranus 
is about sixty-four times the size of our planet, al- 
though he is only about fifteen times as heavy. This 
difference in his weight and size, when compared with 
those attributes of the earth and other small planets, 
leads us to infer that he is still in a semi-nebulous 
state like Jupiter and Saturn, probably retaining in 
great part his original heat On account of his stu- 
pendous distance, plunged in the depths of space more 
than one and three-quarter billion miles, it has been 
found impossible to compute his period of axial rota- 
tion. 

Uranus, like many of the other planets, is attended 
by a retinue of beautiful satellites, four in number. 
Sir William Herschel discovered them, making the 
number larger than subsequent research has averred, 
which indicates that he must have mistaken stars infi- 
nitely beyond the planet for satellites. One singularity 
about the Uranian system is found in the fact that the 
paths of his satellites lie in a plane nearly at right an- 
gles to the planet's orbit. 

Uranus appears to be a star of the sixth magnitude. 
133 



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Soon after the discovery of the planet in 1781, suffi- 
cient observations were secured to enable the mathema- 
ticians to determine his orbit ; after which it was but a 
matter of calculation to ascertain what position the 
planet occupied in any time past, or what position he 
would occupy in any future time. Note of this fact 
was taken for the express purpose of determining 
whether Uranus had ever been observed and cata- 
logued by astronomers who had such work under con- 
struction. It was found that Tobias Mayer, Bradley, 
• Lemonnier, and Flamsteed had all observed the planet 
at one time or another. Lemonnier had observed the 
planet no less than twelve times, and recorded his 
position on four consecutive nights, thinking that each 
observation was that of a different star; but, had he 
compared his observations, he would have discovered 
that the star was changing his position with reference 
to his neighbors, by which he would have added a new 
planet to our system and anticipated Sir William Her- 
schel. 

In 1690, Flamsteed was making observations in that 
part of the heavens through which the planet was then 
passing. In his great work, the "Historia Caelestis," 
it was found that he had recorded a sixth-magnitude 
star, which was at once taken to be Uranus, for it was 
calculated that he occupied that precise position at the 
time indicated. What test was available to prove the 
assumption? The telescope was directed to that part 
of the sky where Flamsteed had observed the star. 
It was not there. Thus was it shown that the star ob- 
served was not a fixed star, which would still be there, 
but a wandering planet. 

After a series of observations extending back to the 
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time when Uranus was first recorded, it was found 
that each revolution was made along a slightly differ- 
ent path from the previous one, and this perturbation 
of his orbit led to the conclusion that the planet did 
not move solely in consequence of the sun's attraction 
and that of the planets between himself and the sun. 
What, then, could account for these perturbations? 
The influence of the sun and of each of the planets 
upon Uranus could be calculated, but this did not ac- 
count for the entire amount of perturbation attaching 
to his orbit. The only possible way to account for this 
difference in the orbital paths of the planet must be 
sought in the magnetic influence of some ultra-Uranian 
body. The circumstances attendant upon the discov- 
ery of this outermost planet we shall next rehearse. 



135 



NEPTUNE, THE OUTERMOST PLANET 

When forever from our sight 

Pass the stars — the day — the night, 

Lord of angels, on our eyes 
Let eternal morning rise, 
And shadows end. 

It now becomes our good fortune to relate the 
greatest intellectual feat in the annals of human 
achievemnt — the discovery of the planet Neptune by 
means of purely mathematical analysis alone. This 
massive planet appeared to the mathematician some- 
what as the vision of America, the new world, arose 
to the sight of the inspired sailor. Sir John Herschel, 
in speaking of the marvelous event, said : "The planet's 
movements have been felt trembling along the far- 
reaching line of our analysis, with a certainty hardly 
inferior to ocular demonstration." In other words, 
the planet was known to exist long before the fact was 
confirmed by the observation of the telescope. How 
was this effected? To answer this question requires 
some explanatory effort on our part. 

The law of universal gravitation reveals to us the 
fact that every body in the universe attracts and is 
attracted by every other body, and that the efficiency 
of a body as an attractive agent is directly propor- 
tional to its mass, and that the intensity of the attract- 
ion decreases as the square of the distance increases. 

136 



THE FAMILY CELESTIAL 

From this it may readily be seen that the stars in 
space on account of their tremendous distance exert 
no appreciable influence upon the planetary members 
of our solar system; and that the sun, whose mass is 
more than a thousand times that of Jupiter, who himself 
is larger than all the other planets combined, is the 
chief determining force in the movements of the 
members of our system. If we take the sun and his 
two largest planets, Jupiter and Saturn, we shall find 
that, although the sun is the chief determining force 
in the movements of the planets since they revolve 
mainly as a result of his attraction, nevertheless 
Jupiter perturbs the path of Saturn and Saturn 
perturbs the path of Jupiter, so that neither follows the 
exact orbit that he would pursue if it were not for the 
influence of the other. Thus it is that every planet in 
the system pursues a path perturbed to some slight 
degree by every other member of the system. This is 
such a complex problem that it gives rise to the ques- 
tion : Why may not these actions and reactions of the 
planets one upon the other cause great disaster to result 
to the system by drawing a body away from the sun 
or by elongating the ellipse to such an extent that at 
one period of its revolution the body would be sub- 
jected to extreme cold and at another to the extreme 
heat of the sun? 

Lagrange and Laplace, eminent French astrono- 
mers who devoted themselves to the gigantic task of 
solving the problem of planetary perturbation, found 
that the planets are in no .danger of having their or- 
bits annihilated on account of their influence one upon 
another. Lagrange demonstrated that, notwithstand- 
ing the fact that the ellipse in which each planet moves 

137 



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is perturbed or altered by other planets, yet the long- 
est axis of the ellipse must ever remain unchanged; 
and, therefore, the mean distance of the planet from 
the sun which is one-half of the axis must also remain 
unaltered. Since this is true, and since the ellipticity 
of the orbit must ever remain small, we need never fear 
that the earth shall be perturbed from her path to such 
an extent that her inhabitants shall suffer from ex- 
tremes of heat and cold; the seasons will remain ap- 
proximately unchanged so long as the sun continues to 
supply us with abundant heat and light, and "seed-time 
and harvest shall not fail." 

The harmony of our system might be completely an- 
nihilated if one of the planets were reversed and made 
to revolve in the opposite direction. The planets all 
revolve around their primary in the same direction, 
and, therefore, the planetary perturbations are not of 
such a nature as to threaten the destruction of the sys- 
tem with annihilating change. Its existence is firmly 
established. 

In discussing the story of Uranus we alluded to the 
fact that it was impossible to reconcile the early ob- 
servations of the planet's orbit and those made since 
he was found to be a planet. His perturbations were 
such as to lead the astronomers to believe that some 
outer planet was disturbing him in his orbit, and caus- 
ing him to pursue a path slightly deviating from the 
one which he was calculated to traverse. The mathe- 
maticians were able to compute what disturbing effect 
each of the known planets was capable of producing. 
When all of these disturbing influences were stimmed 
up and applied to Uranus, it was found that they would 
not suffice to account for the irregularities which were 

138 



THE FAMILY CELESTIAL 

observed in his orbital path. The body causing the 
perturbations of Uranus, then, must lie beyond his or- 
bit, for, if it lay interior to his path, it would long ago 
have been discovered. The sole data for the discovery 
of the new planet were simply the perturbations of his 
orbit. It was ascertained that his deviations could be 
explained by assuming that a certain body with a cer- 
tain mass revolved in a certain orbit at a given distance 
from Uranus. No greatly altered conditions would 
satisfy the requirements and produce the necessary ex- 
planation of the planet's deviations. 

Toward the middle of the last century, two eminent 
mathematicians, each ignorant of the other's efforts, 
set themselves to the task of solving the great prob- 
lem. These men were the distinguished Professor J. 
C. Adams, of England, and the eminent mathematician, 
U. J. J. Le Verrier, of France. Each succeeded in solv- 
ing the great problem, and the glory of the achieve- 
ment must be equally shared between them. 

Professor Adams soon after his graduation from 
Cambridge, in 1843, directed his attention to the per- 
turbations of Herschel's planet, with the view of dis- 
covering the body which caused the deviations of 
Uranus from his path. He had nothing whatever to 
guide him in the search but the perturbations alone. 
He labored long and patiently, and, seven months be- 
fore any other mathematician had arrived at a solution 
of the problem, he notified the Astronomer-Royal, in 
charge of the observatory at Greenwich, as to the posi- 
tion of the planet in the heavens, requesting him to 
direct his telescope toward that part of the sky and 
verify the mathematician's claim by ocular demonstra- 
tion. The astronomer, not being in possession of a 

139 



THE FAMILY CELESTIAL 

star-chart at the time, delayed the search for a period 
of nine months. Professor Adams did not publish any- 
thing concerning his calculations. 

In the meantime Le Verrier was arduously and as- 
siduously employed in the task. In November, 1845, 
and also in June, 1846, announcements of the French- 
man's work were published, and then it was that the 
Astronomer-Royal observed that the mathematical cal- 
culations of Le Verrier coincided very closely with 
those of Adams. Immediately Professor Challis set 
to work with the great telescope at Cambridge to pre- 
pare a star-chart that he might be able to detect the 
planet among the hosts of stars in that part of the 
heavens indicated by the calculations. His purpose 
was to construct a chart and afterwards make the ob- 
servations again, by a comparison of which he hoped 
to identify the wandering planet. It appeared that he 
observed the planet more than once, and, had he been 
given time to compare his charts, the planet must un- 
doubtedly have been discovered by his methodical 
search. 

Le Verrier in September, 1846, wrote Dr. Galle, of 
the Berlin Observatory, giving him his calculations and 
requesting him to make the telescopic survey of a cer- 
tain part of the heavens for the purpose of discovering 
the new planet. Dr. Galle was in a position to make 
the telescopic search, for the Berlin Academy of Sci- 
ences had a few years previously made a series of 
star-charts, with every star to the tenth magnitude pre- 
cisely located. These charts were being published at 
the time, and it so happened that the chart relating to 
the part of the heavens through which the planet was 
then wandering had been issued from the press shortly 

140 



THE FAMILY CELESTIAL 

before Le Verrier's letter reached Dr. Galle. All that 
was necessary to be done to discover the planet was 
simply to direct the telescope to the sky and make the 
comparison of the positions of the stars with their 
places on the map. Star after star was examined and 
its place on the map verified; but at length a star of 
the eighth magnitude was closely observed, and its 
place sought for on the map without avaiL This body 
was not in that part of the heavens when the map was 
constructed, therefore it must be a wanderer — a planet. 
It behooved the astronomers to progress slowly and 
carefully, for it might be a minor planet coursing be- 
tween the orbits of Mars and Jupiter, or it might be a 
variable star which at the time when the chart was 
made was too dim to be recorded, but had since in- 
creased in brightness to such an extent as to be a bril- 
liant object. On the next night the planet had changed 
its position with reference to the stars, and was cours- 
ing in the precise orbit that had been embodied in the 
theory of Le Verrier. This was the planet, indeed; 
the disturbing force which had perturbed the orbit of 
Uranus, occupying almost the exact position pointed 
out by Adams and Le Verrier, the calculations of 
whom varied not more than one degree from the place 
which the wandering orb claimed as its transient 
abode ! This intellectual achievement was without 
doubt the greatest triumph that had ever come to the 
mind of mortal man — the Newtonian theory of univer- 
sal gravitation had been verified beyond the probability 
of doubt. 

The French were enthusiastic over the achieved dis- 
tinction of their eminent mathematician; but it has 
now become recognized throughout the world that the 

141 



THE FAMILY CELESTIAL 

distinguished Englishman is entitled to as much honor, 
and so it is bestowed upon both. Each had accom- 
plished a feat unparalleled and unapproximated in the 
annals of scientific research; each had plunged into 
the depths of space to an appalling distance, and yet 
in this dim cavern he had discovered truth. 

The new planet was called Neptune after the Roman 
god of the sea. His mean distance from the sun is 
about 2,790,000,000 miles, and it takes him nearly 165 
of our years to complete one revolution. His diam- 
eter is about 35,000 miles ; but his period of axial rota- 
tion is unknown. The density of the planet when 
compared with that of the earth is very low, which, 
supplemented by the fact that he is enveloped in a 
cloud-laden atmosphere, leads us to infer that he is in 
a nebulous or semi-nebulous state, possibly retaining 
in great part his original heat. His velocity along his 
orbit is not much more than one-sixth the velocity of 
the earth; this is acounted for by his stupendous dis- 
tance from the sun. 

Neptune is attended by one satellite, which completes 
its revolution around the planet in a period of nearly 
six days. The weight of Neptune, as determined by 
observing the influence which he exerts upon his sat- 
ellite, is about the nineteenth part of Jupiter's mass; 
or, by another comparison, it would require about 
19,000 globes as heavy as Neptune to equal the weight 
of the sun. 

The astronomers are ignorant as to the existence of 
any ultra-Neptunian planets. For aught we know, 
small planets may exist beyond the orbit of Neptune; 
but it is scarcely within the range of feasibility to be- 
lieve that they may be readily detected, on aceount of 

142 



THE FAMILY CELESTIAL 

their stupendous distance. We have seen that the 
numerous minor planets have been discovered; but 
these were found in the belt of space lying between 
Mars and Jupiter. If planets of any consequence lay 
beyond Neptune, they might be discovered by the same 
methods which the astronomers now employ in their 
search for minor planets ; but their efforts have not as 
yet resulted in the detection of any body beyond the 
orbit of Neptune. After Neptune has traversed his 
orbit for some time, for he has covered only a part of 
it since his discovery, it will then be seen whether or 
not he is subjected to any ultra-planetary influence; 
and, if he is perturbed from his path more than the 
sum total of the interior planetary influence will verify, 
it will be assumed that he is perturbed by some extra- 
neous body, which may be discovered by mathematical 
analysis, even though it may never be confirmed by 
ocular demonstration. 

Neptune, then, so far as we know, forms the exte- 
rior boundary of the solar system. His discovery, 
founded on the profundity of theoretic? 1 learning, was 
an achievement of the modern age ; while the discovery 
of Mercury, the planet forming the interior boundary 
of the solar system, was an event dating so far back in 
the hazy distance of the past that no record of the 
event has been transmitted to us. Between the orbits 
of these two planets are encompassed the remaining 
members of the system which owns its allegiance to 
the great sun in the center. Besides the planets and 
their satellites, there are still other bodies which swing 
about the sun and do homage to his majesty. The 
comets and meteors proclaim his royalty and aver their 
fealty to his kingship. The entire system is a marvel 

143 



THE FAMILY CELESTIAL 

of beauty, proclaiming harmony throughout its every 
part, and demonstrating the great Power which moves 
beneath the material worlds. 



m 



COMETS, THE GHOSTS OF NIGHT 

Go, tell the Night that hides thy face, , 
Thou saw'st the last of Adam's race, 

On Earth's sepulchral clod, 
The darkening Universe defy- 
To quench his immortality, 

Or shake his trust in God! 

The stars and planets are the ponderous orbs of 
space, while the comets are of a thin, filmy, flimsy na- 
ture, dashing through space with the apparent light- 
ness of a feather or the down of the thistle. The 
mighty sun and his attendant planets have been 
weighed, but every effort at determining the mass of 
comets has proved abortive. The planets possess an 
orderly movement which enables us to foretell with 
accuracy the positions which they may occupy at any 
future time ; but the comets without any warning what- 
ever dash into the solar system and blaze forth with 
their long tails to the terror of the ignorant and the su- 
perstitious. We of the present age do not attach so 
much grave importance to the appearance of comets 
as did the ancients, because we understand them some- 
what better than did our ancestors of the gloamy past. 
At least, we have concluded that there is nothing to 
fear from them ; they are pleasing and interesting visi- 
tors, which come to entertain and to instruct us, but 
never to threaten or cause disaster. 

During the remote ages of the past, when the bar- 
barians would descend upon our progenitors and 
plunder and outrage them, they would invoke the 
Divine aid against the marauders, always including in 

145 



THE FAMILY CELESTIAL 

their prayer the other horrible enemies who brought 
disaster and destruction upon them: "Good Lord, 
deliver us from the Devil, the Barbarian, and the 
Comet !" But it is needless for us to fear or consider 
a comet as a portent of evil. We might gaze upon it 
with such a feeling of reverence as that which pos- 
sessed Hamlet when he looked upon the Ghost; but 
even then we need not fear it. When his friend be- 
sought him not to follow the Ghost, Hamlet, with the 
deep spirit of the philosopher, replied: 

"Why, what should be the fear? 

I do not set my life at a pin's fee; 
And for my soul, what can it do to that, 

Being a thing immortal as itself?" 

Since comets appear in such a variety of forms, 
sometimes with a long tail and then again with none, 
ever changing their position and shape, it is impossible 
to identify them by photographs or drawings when 
they return to our part of the universe. This is ac- 
complished chiefly by a knowledge of their periodicity 
and the orbits which they traverse. The nucleus or 
head of a comet, which may range in diameter from a 
few thousand to a million or more miles, is enveloped 
by the coma, from which the tail streams away. Those 
comets which belong to our system make periodic re- 
turns, but their personal appearance may change from 
time to time, so that at the return of any comet it 
may not be so bright as before or its tail may be less 
or entirely wanting. But, notwithstanding the changed 
appearance, the laws of Kepler enable us to identify 
with absolute precision, for comets, like planets, obey 
the laws of elliptic motion. 

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THE FAMILY CELESTIAL 

The comets which dash into the solar system from 
the infinity of space never return, because they follow 
parabolic curves. The parabola is a geometric figure, 
the curve of which bends in toward and around a 
certain point known as the focus. We might compre- 
hend the paths in which the comets make their jour- 
ney if we were to imagine a series of ellipses drawn 
with the foci of each succeeding one placed wider and 
wider apart, until their distance had become ener- 
mously great in comparison with the distance of each 
focus from the curve forming the figure, for we should 
then have an ellipse each end of which resembled the 
form of a parabola. But there is an obvious distinction 
between what is termed parabolic motion and elliptic 
motion, the difference being found in the fact that, 
when a body follows an ellipse, it must necessarily pass 
the focus at aphelion and return to perihelion, thus 
establishing a periodicity ; but, in the case of the para- 
bolic curve, the return to perihelion would necessitate 
the doubling of the distant focus, which, since it is 
infinitely remote, could not be accomplished until the 
lapse of an infinite period of existence. The comet 
swinging in a parabolic curve draws in gradually 
toward the focus, after the passage of which it moves 
off on the other side, receding to an infinitely remote 
distance in the infinity of space. 

The velocity of a comet increases as it approaches 
the sun, sometimes dashing around that body 20,000 
times as fast as an express train, or 1,000 times as fast 
as the swiftest rifle bullet. As the body recedes from 
the sun, its velocity decreases, becoming less and less 
until aphelion is reached, when the sun again assumes 
ascendency over the comet and begins to draw it back 

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THE FAMILY CELESTIAL 

to himself with an ever increasing rate of speed until 
at perihelion the maximum velocity is attained. If the 
comet moved from a position of rest, it might dash into 
the sun; but, since it never entirely stops its motion, 
it is made to pass around the sun with an ever 
accelerating rate of speed, which gives it the required 
impetus to send it forth on its long journey into limit- 
less space. This action of the comet might be better 
conceived if we compared it to the motion of a sus- 
pended weight which is drawn to one side and then 
let swing to and fro ; instead of stopping at the center 
of gravity, it swings far to one side and then to the 
other, keeping up the motion for a considerable length 
of time, but ever becoming slower, while the comet has 
its speed again accelerated every time that it passes 
the sun. 




COMETS TAIL -FROM THE SUN 

appendage, but, as it approaches the sun, the engender- 
ing heat of that body causes gaseous substances to 
Far out in space the comet is not adorned with an 
148 



THE FAMILY CELESTIAL 

emanate from the nucleus in such a way as to form 
a tail, which continually increases, following behind 
the comet, until it passes the sun, when the tail pre- 
cedes the comet and becomes continually shorter until 
it finally disappears. The disposition of a comet's tail 
is always from the sua The spectroscope has shown 
that the cometary materials entering into the composi- 
tion of the tail are chiefly carbon, iron and sodium. 

The tail of a comet, although thousands of miles in 
thickness, can not obscure the smallest star. Even the 
nucleus or head is sometimes so transparent that the 
twinkling, sparkling light of a star is transmitted with- 
out much decrease in its brilliancy. The merest cloud 
a few feet in thickness will obscure not only the stars, 
but the great and mighty sun himself. The thinnest 
fleece of cirrus cloud that floats in the azure blue far 
above the surface of the earth will do more to dim the 
luster of a star than 100,000 miles of cometary matter 
in its hazy and attenuated condition. Not infrequently, 
when a comet passes between the earth and the sun, 
our little planet is engulfed in the tail of the comet 
like a pebble or a shell in the waters of the deep. This 
might be deleterious to us, were it not for the pro- 
tection offered by our atmosphere, which acts as a 
great shield or blanket to prevent injury from noxious 
gases or meteoric particles. 

Of the periodic comets which owe allegiance to the 
sun, and do homage to him by returning at stated 
intervals, Halley's Comet is perhaps the most signifi- 
cant. When this great comet appeared in 1682, the 
illustrious astronomer Halley discovered that it moved 
in an elliptic orbit, from which he knew that it must 
of neccessity be periodic. When before this, then, had 

149 



THE FAMILY CELESTIAL 

h visited our system? To find an answer to this 
question Halley consulted the list of recorded comets 
which he had carefully compiled, and he found that 
the comet then in question closely resembled one 
which had appeared 75 years previously, in 1607, and 
another which had been seen in 1531, and that it fol- 
lowed very closely the orbits of these two bodies. 
Other comets were recorded as having appeared at 
intervals of 75 or j6 years, and from this Halley con- 
cluded that they were but returns to perihelion of one 
and the same body. He submitted his belief to a su- 
preme test by predicting that about 1758 or 1759 the 
comet would return again. He showed that the comet 
might be delayed by being perturbed by the great 
planets of the system, but that its return would be 
about the time indicated in his prediction. The great 
astronomer knew that his earthly pilgrimage would be 
run and his good fight fought long before the remark- 
able event should occur, and hence he besought poster- 
ity not to let his name and fame be forgotten, but to 
accord him the honor of having made the wonderful 
prediction and of having gazed across the three- 
quarters of a century. 

As the time for its reappearance drew near, a dis- 
tinguished mathematician, Clairaut by name, by means 
of improved methods, began anew to compute what 
influence the planets of our system would have in per- 
turbing the comet from its path and delaying it beyond 
the anticipated time. He showed that Saturn would 
delay the comet about 100 days and Jupiter about 518 
days. On Christmas Day, 1758, the comet was first 
seen, and it passed perihelion on the 12th of March 
the following year, which did not deviate far from 

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THE FAMILY CELESTIAL 

the time predicted by Halley and amended by Clairaut. 

Seventy-five years later, in 1835, the comet re- 
turned again, followed this year, 1910, by another re- 
appearance. It has gone away on its journey 
extending millions of miles beyond the orbit of Nep- 
tune, and will not return again until three-quarters of 
a century shall have elapsed. On these returns it 
passes between the earth and the sun, and its tail 
stretching away millions of miles completely envelops 
the earth as in the meshes of a net. 

There are other periodic comets, chief among which 
are Encke's Comet, Bida's Comet, and Winneeke's 
Comet. Observations disclose the fact that the period 
of Encke's comet, which completes a revolution in a 
little over three years, is inconstant. BacMund has 
accounted for this inconstancy by propounding the 
idea that the minute body sometimes encounters a 
swarm of meteors, which cause the delay in its periodic 
return. By means of these comets the astronomers are 
able to verify the weights of the sun and planets as ob- 
tained by other modes of research. 

During the last century, great comets have appeared 
in the years 1843, l8 58, 1880, 1881, 1882 and 1892. 
They appear in the most diverse circumstances and in 
any part of the heavens, no constellation being free 
from their occasional and ghostly visits. They range 
in apparent size from the great comet seen in 
broad daylight, with a tail extending from the horizon 
to the zenith, thus apparently spanning ninety degrees 
of the visible universe, to the dim spot seen only by 
the eye fortified with the mightiest telescope. Not 
infrequently telescopic comets resemble vast nebulae 
lying far off in the hazy distance of space, but they 

151 



THE FAMILY CELESTIAL 

can be distinguished therefrom by their onward motion 
with reference to the stars; the comets change their 
position with remarkable celerity, while the stars and 
nebulae remain unchanged for centuries. The comet 
may sometimes be actually seen gliding among the 
stars with its silent ghost-like form, as if fearing lest 
it should make a noise and terrify the sentinels of 
night. If, as the poet says, the stars be the lamps 
of the angels, the comets might to the superstitious 
be symbols of the inverted torch. 

It seems that in the case of periodic comets the tail 
decreases with each return of the visitor to perihelion. 
We might assume that the comet began its journey 
with a given supply of tail-producing material, and 
that every time it passed the sun a certain amount of 
this was expended; in the lapse of time the comet 
would exhaust all of its material and thus would be 
incapable of producing an appendage, and we should 
then have a comet without a tail. In this manner a 
comet may be completely dissipated and all trace of it 
forever lost. It seems that such a fate has befallen 
Biela's periodic comet. 

If, in sweeping among the planets of the solar sys- 
tem, a comet should have its path so perturbed by a 
large planet as greatly to accelerate the velocity of the 
moving body, it would then be diverted from its 
course; and, instead of pursuing a parabolic orbit, its 
path would be transformed into a hyperbolic curve, 
which it would follow around the sun, passing away 
never to return. But, instead of accelerating the ve- 
locity of the comet, the planet might be so situated 
as to retard its speed, in which event the parabolic 
orbit would be transformed into an ellipse and the 

152 



THE FAMILY CELESTIAL 

comet would become periodic, thus returning to the 
sun, or perihelion, at given intervals. It is not too 
much to say that comets have escaped from our sys- 
tem in the manner above indicated, while, on the con- 
trary, others have been captured and made permanent 
members of our solar system, obeying the same laws of 
elliptic motion by which the planets are controlled. 

Comets, like innumerable other mysteries, are not 
thoroughly understood by us, nor shall they ever be; 
but they teach us a lesson as to the mystery of life 
and its potentialities by obeying in every detail the 
law of universal gravitation with the same exactitude 
as the mighty planets, thus demonstrating that there 
is nothing higher or nobler than truth and the demands 
made by Divine authority. A decree of law goes forth 
from the throne of the Infinite, and every atom in the 
universe of God is constrained to obey it or suffer the 
penalty of disobedience. This law is universal, 
primordial and immortal ; it is the law of infinite truth. 
The inanimate worlds obey it; should man, the zenith 
of creation, do les&? 



m 



METEORS OR SHOOTING STARS. 

Aurora, in her gilded car, 
Threw up the golden spray afar; 

The blazing of her horses' eyes 
Reached far up in the purple skies, 

While panting of the steeds she drove 
Blew out the lamps that burned above. 

From a consideration of the great and mighty globes 
of the solar system, and the swinging satellites and 
evanescent comets, we come now to study the small- 
est bodies which recognize the controlling influence of 
the sun. Every object, whether it be so small as a 
grain of sand on the sea shore or as massive as the 
mighty Jupiter himself, must trace its orbit around the 
sun with the same exactitude and precision. The 
great law of universal gravitation is obeyed by all alike, 
from the smallest speck that floats in the infinity of 
space to the mightiest sun that shines in the depths 
of heaven. The meteoric bodies shine only at the mo- 
ment of their destruction. For countless ages the 
meteor wends its flight unmolested through the empti- 
ness of space, but the supreme moment arrives when it 
encounters the atmosphere of the earth, and it then 
perishes in a flash of brilliant light. 

In the days of innocent childhood we are told of 
the judgment and destruction of the earth, and we are 

154 




1. Meteor Trail with Pleiades in Feld. 
2. Meteor Trail in Constellation of Orion. 
(XIV., p. 154.) 



THE FAMILY CELESTIAL 

also told that the stars are worlds ; so at night, when 
we see a meteor burst into a ray of splendor, we are 
at once impressed with the thought that a world has 
been judged and destroyed. But, when we come to 
understand the true nature of the shooting star, we 
know that it is not a mighty globe, but simply a par- 
ticle dashing itself to destruction against the shield 
of atmosphere which protects the earth. The meteors 
may be considered as darts hurling themselves with 
prodigious force against the atmospheric shield or 
armor-plate enveloping the earth. 

The reason why sufficient heat is generated to con- 
sume the object is because of the tremendous veloc- 
ity at which the meteor is moving. This rate of speed 
may be more than twenty miles per second, or more 
than one hundred times as fast as the swiftest rifle 
bullet. Now, bearing in mind the two-fold fact that 
the meteor is flying enormously faster than the bullet 
and that friction develops heat proportional to the 
square of the velocity, we can readily understand that 
the meteor may in a few seconds rise in temperature 
to such a degree as to be completely driven off in the 
form of vapor. If the bullet rose one degree in tem- 
perature and the meteor dashed one hundred times as 
fast, we should have to square one hundred, obtain- 
ing ten thousand, to account for the number of de- 
grees which the meteor would attain in the same 
moment of time. Of course, the temperature could 
never rise so high as that, for any and every substance 
known would melt and even be driven off into vapor 
long before heat so enormous was produced. 

At times the telescope reveals numberless shooting 
stars too small to be visible to the unaided eye. We 

155 



THE FAMILY CELESTIAL 

never know of their existence until the moment of 
their dissolution, when they burst into a streak of 
splendor and perish forever. They are luminous only 
in death. Were it not for the benign influence of our 
atmosphere, they would probably render the earth un- 
inhabitable, for they would pour down upon her with 
prodigious force and velocity far transcending the 
production of any artillery known to the art of man. 
It is this enormous velocity which saves us from de- 
struction; for, were they traveling at a slow rate of 
speed, the friction would not be sufficient to engender 
enough heat to cause their dissipation, and they would 
then rain upon the earth, occasioning vast destruction 
and ploughing up the surface. The eager swiftness 
with which they attempt to attack the earth is the 
feature alone which prevents their malicious design 
from having the desired effect, and dissolves them into 
harmless vapor. The earth absorbs the meteors, and 
thus no harm ensues as a result of their contact with 
her in crossing her orbital path. 

A single meteor flashing across the sky is a striking 
spectacle, but a shower of them is still more pleasing 
to behold. We have about twelve recorded instances 
of meteoric showers. They appear, in the case of the 
Leonids, to have an interval of about thirty-three 
years, and the shower generally accurs in November. 
In 1833 a beautiful shower took place, and again, in 
1866, thirty- three years afterwards, a repetition of the 
phenomenon occurred. It was expected that, in 1899, 
the glorious spectacle would again be observed, but 
only a few straggling meteors, such as may be seen 
at almost any time, greeted the sight of the spectators 
as they gazed toward the heavens, and but few of these 

156 



THE FAMILY CELESTIAL 

seemed to emanate from the point characteristic of 
the Leonid shoal. The reason why no meteoric shower 
occurred in 1899 is attributed to the fact that the 
shoal, although approaching very close to the earth's 
path, did not come in direct contact with her. The 
shoal is of such enormous length that all of the meteors 
cannot escape the earth. They are scattered about 
such a long orbital path that, when the earth passes 
through one end of the shoal one year, she may pass 
through the other end the next year, for the entire 
shoal may not yet have passed, and a few lingering 
meteors may be again seen. This is why, in 1866, such 
a beautiful display of meteors was seen in the old 
world, followed the next year by a splendid display 
visible to the American continent. In the former in- 
stant, at the hour when the earth plunged into the 
meteoric shoal, the Eastern Hemisphere happened to 
be in the van of the movement, and the shooting stars 
were seen from the old world; whereas the next year, 
when the earth had regained the same position, the 
shoal had not entirely passed, and thus the earth 
plunged into it again, with the new world in front, 
from whence the display was then seen. A few are 
observed every time that the the earth crosses the 
path of the shoal. 

Another beautiful meteoric shoal, called the Andro- 
medes, is encountered about the time in which the 
earth is crossing the orbit of Biela's Comet. Since 
the comet has become dissipated and divided into 
fragments, it is believed that some relation exists be- 
tween it and the shooting stars. The comet has not 
been seen for more than half a century, at which time 
two fragments were pereceived; but on several occa- 

157 



THE FAMILY CELESTIAL 

sions since, when the time for its reappearance had 
arrived, showers of meteors were seen. The shoal 
seems to follow the same orbit formerly pursued by 
the comet, from which we infer that some vital rela- 
tion must exist between the two phenomena. 

Numerous as the meteoric showers have been, not 
one particle from the myriads of missiles projected 
from the radiant of the Leonids, the Andromedes, or 
the Perseids has ever been found and identified. As- 
tronomers have now come to believe that the bodies 
which we call meteorites do not fall from the great 
showers, but possess an origin altogether foreign to 
that which characterizes the periodic meteors. The 
meteoric showers revolve in paths pursued by dissi- 
pated comets, and the shooting star particles very 
probably derive their existence from the comet; but, 
although showers of shooting stars have some probable 
connection with comets, it would be error for us to 
associate meteorites with comets, since it is found that 
no meteoric particles have been averred as falling from 
the showers. 

To understand the theory of the origin of the 
meteorites, a study of their composition and structure 
may be necessary. It was formerly doubted that 
masses of rock fell from the sky, and the specimens 
accumulated were deposited in the department of geol- 
ogy in the museums ; but, since the falling of meteoric 
particles has been verified, the specimens have been 
placed in the astronomical division of the science halls. 
These range in size from minute particles to masses 

158 



THE FAMILY CELESTIAL 

weighing several hundred pounds. If it were possible 
for the meteorite to relate the story of its existence, 
it might give us a marvelous tale of its wanderings in 
the realms of space. The questions which we should 
like to have it answer for us would be with respect to 
the place of its origin, where it was ages in the past, 
the size of its orbit, what bodies have influenced its 
course, and what has caused it to be deposited on the 
earth. When we analyze these bodies, we find that 
some of them are composed of almost pure iron, also 
an alloy of iron and nickle, while others are composed 
of stone and several mineral substances. In the min- 
erals and rocks of the earth we are more or less famil- 
iar with the substances which compose the meteorites, 
and we find them identical. 

A tremendous noise frequently ensues as a result of 
the explosion which takes place when the rock mass 
becomes enveloped in the atmosphere. When the 
explosion takes place, fragments of rock are generally 
scattered over the vicinity above which it occurs; but 
it is recorded that detonations have been heard without 
any deposits being found as a result of the explosion, 
the fragments being too small to be accumulated, or 
passing entirely off into meteoric dust. 

For the purpose of solving the mystery attaching to 
the origin of meteorites, Tschermak, the Austrian min- 
eralogist, proposed the theory that the meteorites have 
been ejected by volcanic force from some celestial 
body. The question arises : From what body or bod- 
ies have the meteorites been ejected? Astronomers 
and mathematicians have speculated and calculated 
in order to give a truly scientific solution, fulfilling all 
the conditions involved in the abstruse problem. 

159 



THE FAMILY CELESTIAL 

Terrestrial volcanoes frequently hurl prodigious 
rocks to an appalling distance; but it matters not how 
for the particles ascend, the volcanoes are not now 
powerful enough to send them sufficiently far that the 
gravity of the earth will not draw them back again. 
The higher any body ascends above the earth the 
weaker becomes the force of gravity, so that the diffi- 
culty of recalling the body increases in a two-fold way. 
But the critical velocity of the earth, as we have seen, 
is six or seven miles per second, so that no terrestrial 
power, either natural in the form of volcanoes, or arti- 
ficial in the form of artillery, is capable of producing 
a velocity sufficient to hurl a projectile beyond the con- 
trol of the earth. Tschermak's hypothesis, therefore, 
would not at present apply to the earth, because the 
initial velocity required is too great. 

Would it apply to any other body? We cannot see 
volcanoes on the other planets, but mighty craters are 
to be observed on the moon ; and, since she is so much 
smaller than the earth and her critical velocity so much 
less than that of our globe, being only a little more 
than a mile per second on account of the lessened force 
of gravity, it might be appropriate to regard that body 
as the parent of the meteorites. A fragment of rock 
hurled from the moon would, in accordance with the 
laws of Kepler, move around the earth as a focus, and, 
if once the meteorite missed the earth, it would never 
thereafter strike her, unless perturbed from its orbit 
by some other body. Thus, for the lunar projectile to 
reach the earth, it must do so shortly after its ejection 
from the moon; and, since the lunar craters have long 
since ceased to be active, no projectiles are at present 
hurled from that body, and, therefore, the lunar theory 

160 



THE FAMILY CELESTIAL 

does not satisfy the conditions of the problem. 

Nor will the large planets, like Jupiter and Saturn, 
fulfill the conditions of the problem, because of the 
tremendous initial velocity required to send a mass 
away never to return. The critical velocity being so 
great, it would be beyond credulity to assume that a 
volcano could eject a fragment of rock with force suffi- 
cient for it never to be recalled by gravity. The minor 
planets may also be dismissed, for the reason that a 
projectile hurled from one of them would have to 
pass through the narrow orbital path of the earth, a 
circle only 8,000 miles wide; and, if the earth were 
there at the time, the meteorite would come in contact 
with her, and thus perish in a streak of splendor and 
beauty. Therefore, even with the low velocity which 
it would require to hurl into space a projectile never 
to return, it has been estimated that, where one 
meteorite struck the earth from this source, thousands 
would not reach her at all — the odds having been esti- 
mated as 50,000 to one. What body, then, in all the 
system has the greatest probability in its favor as being 
the source of the meteorites? 

We may find the answer to this question near at 
hand, if we consider that our earth was in remote ages 
vastly superior in heat to what she is at present. It 
seems that in the early days of geological time the 
volcanic activity and energy of our earth was for more 
powerful than any force of this later day. With many 
difficulties to overcome in our course of reasoning, we 
may assume that in the primeval days of volcanic activ- 
ity mighty throes hurled forth rocks with such tre- 
mendous violence and velocity that the gravitation of 
the earth was unable ever to recall them, and that the 

161 



THE FAMILY CELESTIAL 

sun began to exercise control over them so that they 
swung around him as their center. To be sure, the re- 
sistance of the earth's atmosphere would be an ob- 
stacle to surmount, but this might be eliminated to a 
degree, if the crater were high above the earth's sur- 
face and a volume of steam and vaporous gases 
accompanied the projectiles as they sped onward in 
their signal flight. If any swung in hyperbolic curves, 
they would dash away never to return; while those 
that were constrained to follow elliptic paths would 
swing ever around the sun, crossing at each revolu- 
tion — and this is the point to consider — that part of 
the earth's path which she was traversing at the mo- 
ment of their ejection. Each meteorite, then, during 
every journey around the sun must pass through the 
earth's path; and, if she should again at that moment 
be journeying there, the meteorite would dash into 
her atmosphere and be destroyed, or in rare instances 
it would fall to the ground. 

Assuming this to be the correct theory with refer- 
ence to the meteorites, we must conclude that there 
are numberless myriads of these little bodies coursing 
round the sun, each crossing the earth's path during 
every revolution, while she herself is bringing to an 
end the journeys of the little bodies and taking them 
back to herself from whom they were driven so many 
ages ago. The earth is gathering in her harvest, and 
becoming imperceptibly larger each year as a result 
of the meteoric dust deposited on her surface, which, 
for aught we know, may have been in greater part thus 
formed throughout the hazy epochs of the past. 

When the earth, dashing along at the rate of 
eighteen miles per second, and a meteorite, traveling 

162 




Constellation of Orion. 
(Exposure 30 minutes.) 



(XX., p. 162.) 




Nebula in Andromeda. 



(XVIII., p. 163.) 



THE FAMILY CELESTIAL 

faster still, meet, the little body is completely de- 
stroyed, the earth claiming its ashes; but, if the 
meteorite rushes in behind the earth, the velocity with 
which it strikes the atmosphere is simply the difference 
in speed between the two bodies, and may not be more 
than a few miles per second, in consequence of which 
the meteorite, not destroyed by friction, may fall to 
the ground. This, in brief, seems to be the mode by 
which the meteorites find it possible to land upon the 
earth. 

The shooting stars, therefore, are mysterious in 
their action, and supply us with food for profoundest 
thought; for there is a world of philosophy in a 
meteor as it bursts upon the earth in a ray of dazzling 
splendor and beauty, eliciting from every observer an 
expression of deilght 



163 



THE SUNS IN SPACE. 

But the day is spent, 
And stars are kindling in the firmament, 

To us how silent — though, like ours, perchance, 
Busy, and full of life and circumstance. 

For us thoroughly to understand the positions of 
the principal constellations, we should supply ourselves 
with star-maps or charts, by means of which we may 
become familiar with the stars and their places dur- 
ing each month in the year; because, on account of 
our annual passage around the sun, there is an ap- 
parent change with reference to the position of the 
stars. Eliminating the few planets which we may 
see, all the beautiful gems which glitter in the firm- 
ament are suns like our own, many of them probably 
transcending him in magnitude and brilliancy. And, 
besides these, there may be myriads of lifeless bodies, 
that is, bodies which have lost their original heat and 
are now dark and invisible. Whether or not these 
bodies are the abodes of life in any form is a matter 
of uncertainty and speculation. On account of the 
Cimmerian darkness and the intense cold which must 
ever prevail on these bodies, life as we know it on 
earth is impossible. 

Sirius, the brightest star in the heavens as viewed 
from the earth, and over twice the mass of our sun, 

m 




Star Clouds in Milky Wav. 



(XXI., p 164) 



THE FAMILY CELESTIAL 

is attended by a companion slightly heavier than our 
luminary, and yet so devoid of light that a hundred 
bodies like it would not equal the brilliancy of the 
sun. Sirius as viewed from the earth is 5,000 times as 
bright as his companion, but only about twice as large. 
It is a well conceded fact that numberless orbs of space 
possess no light at all, which leads us to infer that, 
as "all that tread the globe are but a handful to the 
tribes that slumber in its bosom," so the visible stars 
may be but a small part of the great numberless host 
that lie invisible in the somber shades of night. Com- 
paratively speaking, probably only a few stars or 
masses of gaseous matter retain their original heat to 
such an extent as to be visible from the earth as a 
result of their luminosity. 

The most important star in the northern heavens is 
the North or Pole Star. It remains ever above the 
horizon, approximately in the same position, and en- 
circles the pole of the heavens. The constellation of 
Ursa Major, or the Great Bear, often called the Dip- 
per, contains the two pointers which direct the ob- 
server to the Pole. There are many famous constel- 
lations, the positions of which may readily be observed 
by the use of a star-map. On the opposite side of the 
Pole Star from the Great Bear may be seen the beauti- 
ful constellation of Cassiopeia, so called in honor of the 
wife of Cephus, a fabulous king of Ethiopia. Near by 
is Andromeda, the daughter of Cassiopeia. By com- 
mand of the Oracle of Ammon she was chained to a 
rock to be devoured by a sea monster, but Perseus, the 
lengendary hero, killed the monster and rescued the 
unfortunate girl. A constellation in the same neigh- 
borhood has been named for the hero. 

165 



THE FAMILY CELESTIAL 

Many of the constellations are named from the 
characters of ancient mythology. The interesting 
Square of Pegasus received its name from a certain 
winged horse of the Muses, which sprang from the 
blood of Medusa when she was slain, and with one 
blow of his hoof caused Hippocrene, the famous foun- 
tain of the Muses, to gush forth from Mount Helicon. 
Bellorophon is fabled to have ridden the furious 
charger when he slew the terrible Chimera; but, when 
the hero made an effort to ride the horse to heaven, 
he threw him off and ascended to the skies alone, 
where he was transformed into a constellation. Then 
we have the beautiful constellation of the Pleiades, or 
Seven Sisters, so called from the seven daughters of 
Atlas and the nymph Pleione, fabled to have been 
placed in the skies by Jupiter. Only six of the pleiads 
are distinctly visible to the naked eye, which led the 
ancients to believe that the seventh sister had con- 
cealed herself as a result of shame for having loved 
a mortal, Sisyphus, 

It is interesting and instructive to study the numer- 
ous constellations, and discover why they were so 
named; and the numberless stars of the several mag- 
nitudes are fraught with so much of beauty and 
grandeur that we may well engage our attention in 
learning to locate their positions with reference to 
one another. Among the myriads of stars and numer- 
ous constellations are many double and variable stars. 
The double stars revolve around their common center 
of gravity, and, if planets attend them, how wonderful 
it must be to have two suns in the sky at once, one 

166 




The Pleiades. 



(XVI., p. 166.) 




Great Nebula in Orion. 



(XVII., p. 167.) 



THE FAMILY CELESTIAL 

apparently passing the other, or one on either side of 
the planet, giving it day over its entire surface ! Many 
of the double stars are vari-colored, some of them blue 
and others red. What a wonderful variety of tints 
would be made when two suns were shining together 
in the sky and illuminating the scenery of a planet! 
How fascinating the satellites of such a planet would 
be, as they reflected the resplendent light of the suns ! 

The variable stars are those which glow with 
wonderful brilliancy for a certain period and then 
lapse back into their previous condition, many of them 
passing through this cycle indefinitely. Not infre- 
quently a star hitherto invisible flares out with wonder- 
ful brightness, but to wane with correspondingly 
marked abruptness. In the case of some variable 
stars, for instance, Algol, the light is intercepted by 
the passage of a dark companion between the ob- 
server and the star, which causes it to appear to de- 
cline in brightness at certain intervals, that is, during 
the period of the passage. It is intensely interesting 
to follow a star through the periodic variable changes 
which mark its increase and decline. 

These gigantic suns are separated from us by ex- 
ceedingly tremendous distances, by abyssal gulfs of 
space. Alpha Centauri, one of the nearest fixed stars, 
is estimated to be at least 20,000,000,000,000 miles 
from us — a distance so appalling that the light from 
the star requires three years to reach the earth, 
although flashing at the rate of 186,000 miles per sec- 
ond; or, in other words, the light which we now see 

167 



THE FAMILY CELESTIAL 

left the star three years ago. It would require several 
hundred years for one to count the distance in miles 
to the star, while it has been declared that all the cot- 
ton mills of the world combined have not as yet spun 
a thread of yarn long enough to reach it ! The South 
in half a millennium might grow cotton sufficient to 
produce a thread adequate to span the tremendous gulf 
which separates us from our nearest stellar neighbors ! 
If one were to make a journey to the nearest star, 
traveling 10,000 miles for one dollar, it would require 
$2,000,000,000 — double the value of our present 
cotton crop — to purchase his ticket 

The nearest stars are so far from the earth that 
their light must require several years to reach us ; but 
there are stars at every conceivable distance, and the 
time required for the light to reach the earth from 
them varies from a period of years to centuries, and 
from centuries to millenniums, and from millenniums 
to ages. If we could see the real structure of these 
remote stars, we should not see them as they are at 
present, but as they appeared years ago when the ray 
of light now entering our eye left them. On the other 
hand, if the inhabitants of those distant worlds could 
see our earth, they would not see her as she appears 
to-day with her mighty hives of industry and of thrift ; 
but they would see her when the terrible Civil War 
was raging, or when the mighty whirlwind of the 
French Revolution was overturning the thrones of 
Europe; while those more distant would look upon 
her as she appeared during the Mediaeval Ages, or 

m 



THE FAMILY CELESTIAL 

when Greece and Rome were at the zenith of their 
power and prowess, or when Moses led the children of 
Israel out of bondage, or when the Ark floated upon 
the bosom of the deep and rested on Mount Ararat; 
while still there are other globes so far engulfed in the 
depths of space that the earth would present to them 
the view of an intensely heated nebulous mass floating 
like a bright mote in the hazy dust of the geological 
past. Truly we may exclaim with the poet : 



"Set in the boundless realms, they say, 
There are fixed stars, so far away. 

That, if some power should veil their face, 
Their light would still shine on through space, 

And we on earth should never know 
That the stars had ceased to glow." 



The revolution of the earth around the sun enables 
the astronomers to approximate the distance of some 
of the stars. We are aware that in her passage around 
the sun the earth in any season is 186,000,000 miles 
from the position occupied by her six months pre- 
viously; that is, twice the distance from the earth to 
the sun, which is the diameter of the earth's orbit 
about her primary. The stars, on account of this pas- 
sage, undergo an apparent change with reference to 
their position on the background of the sky. We, 
oblivious of our own motion, which produces the ap- 
parent displacements, attribute the changes to the stars 
themselves. This change in apparent position is 
termed the annual parallax of the star, the orbit of 
the star being denominated the parallactic ellipse, the 
major axis of which being measured, the distance from 
the star to the sun, inversely proportional to the size 

169 



THE FAMILY CELESTIAL 

of the ellipse, is determined and expressed as a mul- 
tiple of the earth's radius. The nearer a star is to us, 
the larger is its parallactic ellipse; while, conversely, 
as the stars recede into the abyss of space, their paral- 
lactic ellipses become smaller and smaller, approaching 




APR. 
THE 6/FFERENCE IN THE* PARALLACT/C EUfPSg 
ACCORD me TO THE D/ STANCE OF THE STAR 

the infinitesimal and imperceptible. The diagram 
shows the position of the earth for the several seasons, 
and illustrates the difference between the apparent el- 
lipses of a star comparatively near and one more re- 
mote in the azure depths. The greatest difficulty in 
measuring the distances of the stars is attributable to 
the smallness of their ellipses, the great majority of 
them being so minute that the micrometer often fails 
to detect them. 

170 




Region of Milky Way. 



(XIX., p. 171.) 



THE FAMILY CELESTIAL 

Although the stars appear to be fixed, there is no 
doubt that they are traveling with tremendous veloc- 
ity. Even in a century their apparent position changes 
but little. It is computed that 61 Cygni, one of our 
nearest stellar neighbors, although about 40,000,000,- 
000,000 miles from us, must move at the rate of at 
least thirty miles per second ; but, even traveling nearly 
one billion miles during a year, its proper motion in 
that period is only five seconds of arc, an amount so 
insignificant that the untrained vision would hardly 
detect it in a century. If the star be moving toward 
the earth — toward the solar system — 40,000 years must 
elapse before the neighbors shall greet each other! 
Thus the stars are in proper motion, but, on account 
of their stupendous distances, it can hardly be de- 
tected. When we at a considerable distance view a 
ship sailing upon the ocean, or an aeroplane suspended 
in the air, its velocity is so slight that it appears to be 
only creeping along ; but, if we observe it near at hand, 
its high rate of speed at once becomes apparent. The 
illusion is caused by the distance; and in the case of 
the stars the same is infinitely true, for, if we were 
near them, we might see that they dash along a thou- 
sand times as fast as any craft that ploughs the ocean 
of water or of air. 

Sir William Herschel, seeing that the stars are ani- 
mated with proper motion, and that the sun himself 
is but a star, propounded the stupendous question as 
to whether the sun is also in motion like the stars in 
space beyond. He succeeded in solving this noble 

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THE FAMILY CELESTIAL 

problem and in demonstrating that the sun and his 
retinue of planets and satellites — the whole stupendous 
solar system — are sweeping through space with tre- 
mendous velocity. He ascertained that our system is 
being propelled with the velocity of a rifle bullet 
toward a point in the heavens between the constella- 
tions Lyra and Hercules. The velocity of our move- 
ment is proportionate to the magnitude of the system, 
so that it will require more than a million years for 
the sun and his host to traverse the abyss of space 
which separates us from those constellations, which, 
even though we may not possess the means of verify- 
ing it, may be tending toward us or swinging at a dif- 
ferent rate of speed in some other direction. 

Since all the attendants of the sun are ever compelled 
by his attractive force to maintain their relative dis- 
tance from him, it is impossible for us, as we partici- 
pate in the movement, to obtain any idea of our mo- 
tion by observing the sun or the other members of 
the system. The method of reasoning which Her- 
schel adopted for the purpose of advancing his theory 
may be explained by likening our system to a ship and 
the constellations toward which we are moving to the 
lig-hthouses commanding the entrance to a harbor. 
When the lighthouses are first seen above the horizon, 
they appear to be near together; but as the ship ap- 
proaches they become wider and wider, apparently, 
until at last when the ship enters the harbor they 
seem no longer to stand side by side, but far apart, 
guarding the entrance to the port. Thus is it with 
the solar system : the stars beyond are our beacons, 
and those in the constellations of Lyra and Hercules 
seem to be gradually widening, from which we infer 

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Constellation of Orion. 
(Exposure 150 minutes.) 



(XX. 



17?..) 



THE FAMILY CELESTIAL 

that our system is tending toward that point of the 
universe. How vast the conception which flashed 
from the master mind of Herschel and gave us this 
theory of the motion which propels us onward! If 
the whole solar system is being propelled onward by 
the magnetic force of a still more powerful constel- 
lation, why may not the entire universe as we know 
it from our observation of the stars, or the infinite 
universe perceived by our thought and imagination, 
be conveyed through space with the velocity of light, 
while our little system and its encircling neighbors 
swing among the members of infinite expanse I 

When we try to comprehend the immensity of space 
and estimate the number of stars which stud the uni- 
verse, we find our efforts and calculations necessarily 
vain. If a great globe occupied all of the universe 
as we know it, even as far as we can perceive not only 
with our vision fortified with a powerful telescope, but 
also as far in the hazy distance as we can extend with 
the wonderful faculty of our imagination, it would be 
infinitely less than one drop of sparkling dew com- 
pared to the volume of the mighty ocean. How, then, 
can we compute the area of space, or number the stars 
of infinity ! The task is impossible and the conception 
vain. Yet, we may grasp some faint idea of the im- 
mensity of space and the infinite myriads of stars 
by pondering the words of the poet : 

"But number every grain of sand, 

Wherever salt wave touches land; 
Number in single drops the sea, 

Number the leaves on every tree; 
Number earth's living creatures, all 

That run, that fly, that swim, that crawl; 

Of sands, drops, leaves, and lives, tiie count 

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THE FAMILY CELESTIAL 

Add up into one vast amount, 
And then, for every separate one 

Of all those, let a flaming sun 
Whirl in the boundless skies, with each 

Its massy planets, to outreach 
All sight, all thought; for all we see. 

Encircled with infinity, 
lb but an island." 



174 



